C. Thomas Howell
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Dec 7, 1966 (age 59)
- Place of birth
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Credits
- 212
Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966), usually credited as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stopped and Gods and Generals. Howell was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Christopher N. and Candice Howell. He has three siblings.
His father worked as a stunt coordinator and rodeo performer. He played the role of the Red Knight in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King. As a young boy, Howell wanted to be a stuntman and was a child stunt performer. He was also a rodeo star.
When Howell was young, his parents divorced. Howell graduated from Saugus High School in 1984.
In 1982, Howell made his film debut as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
At the age of 15 in 1981, Howell was cast in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders (1983). Howell played the lead role of Ponyboy Curtis, "the soulful tagalong greaser through whose eyes we see the events of the 1960s-set film unfold." Based on S.E. Hinton's bestselling 1967 novel of the same name,the coming-of-age film went on to become a cult classic. Howell's portrayal of Ponyboy was his breakthrough role, and it earned him a Young Artist Award.
In 1984, Howell and his Outsiders co-star Patrick Swayze reunited for Grandview, U.S.A. and Red Dawn. Howell also had a pivotal role in Tank (1984). In 1985, he starred in Secret Admirer. After filming The Outsiders, Howell co-starred in his own television series Two Marriages, which ended after four episodes, but letters of support got it back on air. He later expressed disappointment in the series.
Howell was one of two final actors in the running for the lead role of Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985); the other was Eric Stoltz. Ultimately, Michael J. Fox was cast as Marty after Stoltz was deemed wrong for the part. In 1986, Howell was a hitchhiker's target in the film The Hitcher. He also starred in the sequel, which was released in 2003. In 1986, Howell starred in Soul Man, a film in which Howell appears in Blackface. Rounding out the 1980s , Howell played the young Arturo Toscanini in Franco Zeffirelli's 1988 film Young Toscanini.
Known for
Filmography
One Mile: Chapter Two
2026Movie
Stanley Dixon
One Mile: Chapter One
2026Movie
Stanley Dixon
Where the Wind Blows
2025Movie
Nathan
Reagan
2024Movie
Caspar Weinberger
Ride
2024Movie
John Hawkins
The Open Door
2024Movie
Mr. Sapp
Obliterated
2023TV
Hagerty
Old Dads
2023Movie
Ed Cameron
Will Trent
2023TV
Warden Sturgill Hardly
1923
2022TV
Anders
Crimson Point
2022Movie
Frank
Because We're Family
2022Movie
Peter
The Wrong Path
2021Movie
Dr. Eric Peselowe
Beast Mode
2020Movie
Breen Nash
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
2019Movie
Captain Miles Browning
Creepshow
2019TV
Sam Spinster
Control
2019Movie
Control (voice)
I Am Patrick Swayze
2019Movie
Self
The Good Cop
2018TV
Businessman
Urban Country
2018Movie
Jim Craft
Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.
2018Movie
Narrator
Dirty Dealing
2018Movie
Carter
The Rack Pack
2018Movie
Ted
Rich Boy, Rich Girl
2018Movie
Blake
Deadman Standing
2018Movie
The Stranger
The Terror
2018TV
Major Bowen
Shifting Gears
2018Movie
Jenkins
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
2018Movie
Zoom (voice)
Marvel's The Punisher
2017TV
Carson Wolf
LBJ
2017Movie
Walter Jenkins
A Question of Faith
2017Movie
John Danielson
SEAL Team
2017TV
Ash Spenser
Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure
2017Movie
Disconnected
2017Movie
Robert Crawford
The Shadow People
2017Movie
Kaine
My B.F.F.
2016Movie
Ben Wilkins
Advance & Retreat
2016Movie
Nathan Shapiro
MacGyver
2016TV
Vasil
Attack of the Killer Donuts
2016Movie
Officer Roberts
Blood Lust
2016Movie
Ryan
Magic Hour
2015Movie
Tom Worthy
A Christmas Eve Miracle
2015Movie
Jack Carter
Woodlawn
2015Movie
George 'Shorty' White
The Sin Seer
2015Movie
Detective Riggers
Lazarus Rising
2015Movie
Silent Cal
Ties That Bind
2015TV
Mr. Witherspoon
Rivers 9
2015Movie
Sheriff Quentin
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
2015Movie
Dr. Will Magnus (voice)
Stitchers
2015TV
Daniel Stinger
Spirit Riders
2015Movie
Keith
Borrowed Moments
2015Movie
Jack
Bosch
2015TV
Louis Degner
A Magic Christmas
2014Movie
Jack Carter
Fruits De Mer
2014Movie
Confessions of a Womanizer
2014Movie
Tony
Rescuing Madison
2014Movie
Rad
Category 5
2014Movie
Charlie DuPuis
Bigfoot Wars
2014Movie
Zeke
Christmas Belle
2013Movie
Rex Everhart
Storm Rider
2013Movie
Mitch Fielding
Lost on Purpose
2013Movie
Delbert Furgeson
The Blacklist
2013TV
Earl Fagen
Sleepy Hollow
2013TV
SAC Mick Granger
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
2013Movie
Professor Zoom / Thawne (voice)
Don't Pass Me By
2013Movie
Jack
An Amish Murder
2013Movie
Nathan Detrick
MoniKa
2012Movie
Double
Chilly Christmas
2012Movie
Patrick Cole
The 'E.T.' Journals
2012Movie
Self
Revolution
2012TV
Bounty Hunter
Home Invasion
2012Movie
Ray
The Amazing Spider-Man
2012Movie
Jack's Father
Wedding Day
2012Movie
Russ
Longmire
2012TV
Ray Stewart
Escape
2012Movie
Paul Jordan
Restitution
2011Movie
John Youngstown
Grimm
2011TV
Weston Steward
Alphas
2011TV
Eli Aquino
Cross
2011Movie
Jake
Camel Spiders
2011Movie
Sheriff Beaumont
The Walking Dead
2010TV
Roy, Hilltop Resident
Blue Bloods
2010TV
Alex Polanski
Hawaii Five-0
2010TV
Martin Cordova
The Glades
2010TV
Peyton Robinson
Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!
2010Movie
David
The Terror Experiment
2010Movie
Chief Grasso
Cupid's Arrow
2010Movie
Professor Grimes
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
2009Movie
Alumnus Guy #2
Celebrity Ghost Stories
2009TV
Self
The Grind
2009Movie
Luke
The Land That Time Forgot
2009Movie
Frost Michaels
The Jailhouse
2009Movie
Seth Delray
Southland
2009TV
Officer Dewey Dudek
Castle
2009TV
John Campbell
Secret at Arrow Lake
2009Movie
The Day the Earth Stopped
2008Movie
Josh Myron
A Gunfighter's Pledge
2008Movie
Horn
Sons of Anarchy
2008TV
Agent Frank Eagan
Big Game
2008Movie
Sully
Celebracadabra
2008TV
Toxic
2008Movie
LIttle Joe
House of Fallen
2008Movie
Thomas
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
2008Movie
George Herbert
Xenophobia
2008Movie
Stone
The Thirst: Blood War
2008Movie
Jed
The Haunting of Marsten Manor
2007Movie
Captain Williams
Cold Ones
2007Movie
K.C. Corcoran
Fighting Words
2006Movie
David Settles
Torchwood
2006TV
The Gentleman
Psych
2006TV
Camden Driggs
The Da Vinci Treasure
2006Movie
Michael Archer
Hoboken Hollow
2006Movie
Clayton Connelly
The Poseidon Adventure
2005Movie
Doctor Ballard
Criminal Minds
2005TV
The Reaper / George Foyet
Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'
2005Movie
Self
Glass Trap
2005Movie
Curtis
H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
2005Movie
George Herbert
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
2005Movie
Coach Fielding
Crimson Force
2005Movie
Capt. Baskin
The Lost Angel
2005Movie
Kuratha
Ordinary Miracles
2005Movie
Jim Powell
The Hillside Strangler
2004Movie
Kenneth Bianchi
A Killer Within
2004Movie
Addison Terrill
Summerland
2004TV
Kyle Bale
Zolar
2004Movie
Hedion
Nursie
2004Movie
Zack
Hidalgo
2004Movie
Preston Webb
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
2003Movie
Jim Halsey
The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?
2003Movie
Gods and Generals
2003Movie
Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain
Net Games
2003Movie
Adam Vance
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003TV
Self
Killer Bees
2002Movie
Sheriff Lyndon Harris
WillFull
2002Movie
Nat Wolff
Night of the Wolf
2002Movie
Sheriff Wade Messer
Askari
2001Movie
Joss Mckinley
Asylum Days
2001Movie
Nathan Devine
24
2001TV
Barry Landes
XCU: Extreme Close Up
2001Movie
Geoffrey Liddy
Separate Ways
2001Movie
Tom Milton
Burning Down the House
2001Movie
Concierge
Lawless: Dead Evidence
2001Movie
Dean Riley
The District
2000TV
Chris Gunner
Son of the Beach
2000TV
The Million Dollar Kid
2000Movie
Valentino
Hot Boyz
2000Movie
Officer Roberts
The Prince and the Surfer
1999Movie
Dean
Amazon
1999TV
Dr. Alex Kennedy
Twice in a Lifetime
1999TV
Tony Tremaine / Phil Barlow
Escape from Alaska
1999Movie
Jack
The Glass Jar
1999Movie
Lanois
Fatal Affair
1999Movie
Malcolm 'Mack' Maddox
Red Team
1999Movie
J.B. Gaines
Hitman's Run
1999Movie
Tom Holly
Cybermaster: Shepherd II
1999Movie
Dakota
Enemy Action
1999Movie
John Reed
Charades
1998Movie
Evan
Matter of Trust
1998Movie
Michael D'Angelo
V.I.P.
1998TV
Phil Sherman
The Shepherd
1998Movie
Boris Dakota
Sealed with a Kiss
1998Movie
Detective Mick Cullen
Last Lives
1997Movie
Aaron
The Big Fall
1997Movie
Blaise Rybeck
Sleeping Dogs
1997Movie
Sanchez Boon
Dead Fire
1997Movie
Tucker
Laws of Deception
1997Movie
Evan Marino
Hourglass
1997Movie
Michael Jardine
Dilemma
1997Movie
Thomas 'Quin' Quinlan
Pure Danger
1996Movie
Johnie Dean
The Sweeper
1996Movie
Mark Goddard
Kindred: The Embraced
1996TV
Det. Frank Kohanek
Baby Face Nelson
1996Movie
Baby Face Nelson
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
1995Movie
Mike
The Outer Limits
1995TV
Capt. Miles Davidow
Dangerous Indiscretion
1995Movie
Jim Lomax
Payback
1995Movie
Oscar Bonsetter
Suspect Device
1995Movie
Dan Jericho
ER
1994TV
Vincent Jansen
Teresa's Tattoo
1994Movie
Carl
Natural Selection
1994Movie
Ben Braden / Alex Connelly
Jailbait
1993Movie
Sergeant Lee Teffler
Gettysburg
1993Movie
Lieut. Thomas D. Chamberlain
Treacherous
1993Movie
Micky Stewert
Tattle Tale
1993Movie
Bernard Sprat
Acting on Impulse
1993Movie
Paul Stevens
To Protect and Serve
1992Movie
Egan
Breaking the Rules
1992Movie
Gene Michaels
That Night
1992Movie
Rick
Nickel & Dime
1992Movie
Jack Stone
Kid
1990Movie
Kid
Curiosity Kills
1990Movie
Cat Thomas
Far Out Man
1990Movie
C. Thomas Howell
Side Out
1990Movie
Monroe Clark
The Eyes of the Panther
1989Movie
Jenner Brading
Nightmare Classics
1989TV
Jenner Brading
The Return of the Musketeers
1989Movie
Raoul
Young Toscanini
1988Movie
Arturo Toscanini
A Tiger's Tale
1988Movie
Bubber Drumm
Into the Homeland
1987Movie
Tripp Wilson
Soul Man
1986Movie
Mark Watson
The Hitcher
1986Movie
Jim Halsey
Secret Admirer
1985Movie
Michael Ryan
Moonlighting
1985TV
Waiter (uncredited)
Red Dawn
1984Movie
Robert
Grandview, U.S.A.
1984Movie
Tim Pearson
Tank
1984Movie
Billy
The Hitchhiker
1983TV
Gerald
The Outsiders
1983Movie
Ponyboy Curtis
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982Movie
Tyler
The Horseman
Movie
Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
Movie
Self
The Greatest Actress in the World
Movie