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C. Thomas Howell
Acting
Biography
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 perfor…
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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.
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BODY OF WORK
C. Thomas Howell's Filmography
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One Mile: Chapter Two
as Stanley Dixon
One Mile: Chapter One
as Stanley Dixon
Where the Wind Blows
as Nathan
Reagan
as Caspar Weinberger
Ride
as John Hawkins
The Open Door
as Mr. Sapp
Old Dads
as Ed Cameron
Crimson Point
as Frank
Because We're Family
as Peter
The Wrong Path
as Dr. Eric Peselowe
Beast Mode
as Breen Nash
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
as Captain Miles Browning
Control
as Control (voice)
I Am Patrick Swayze
as Self
Urban Country
as Jim Craft
Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.
as Narrator
Dirty Dealing
as Carter
The Rack Pack
as Ted
Rich Boy, Rich Girl
as Blake
Deadman Standing
as The Stranger
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
as Zoom (voice)
Shifting Gears
as Jenkins
LBJ
as Walter Jenkins
A Question of Faith
as John Danielson
Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure
Disconnected
as Robert Crawford
The Shadow People
as Kaine
My B.F.F.
as Ben Wilkins
Advance & Retreat
as Nathan Shapiro
Attack of the Killer Donuts
as Officer Roberts
Blood Lust
as Ryan
Magic Hour
as Tom Worthy
A Christmas Eve Miracle
as Jack Carter
Woodlawn
as George 'Shorty' White
The Sin Seer
as Detective Riggers
Lazarus Rising
as Silent Cal
Rivers 9
as Sheriff Quentin
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
as Dr. Will Magnus (voice)
Spirit Riders
as Keith
No Poster
Borrowed Moments
as Jack
A Magic Christmas
as Jack Carter
Fruits De Mer
Confessions of a Womanizer
as Tony
Rescuing Madison
as Rad
Category 5
as Charlie DuPuis
Bigfoot Wars
as Zeke
Christmas Belle
as Rex Everhart
Storm Rider
as Mitch Fielding
Lost on Purpose
as Delbert Furgeson
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
as Professor Zoom / Thawne (voice)
Don't Pass Me By
as Jack
An Amish Murder
as Nathan Detrick
MoniKa
as Double
Chilly Christmas
as Patrick Cole
The E.T. Journals
as Self
Home Invasion
as Ray
The Amazing Spider-Man
as Jack's Father
Wedding Day
as Russ
Escape
as Paul Jordan
Restitution
as John Youngstown
Cross
as Jake
Camel Spiders
as Sheriff Beaumont
Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!
as David
The Terror Experiment
as Chief Grasso
Cupid's Arrow
as Professor Grimes
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
as Alumnus Guy #2
The Grind
as Luke
The Land That Time Forgot
as Frost Michaels
The Jailhouse
as Seth Delray
Secret at Arrow Lake
The Day the Earth Stopped
as Josh Myron
A Gunfighter's Pledge
as Horn
Big Game
as Sully
Toxic
as LIttle Joe
House of Fallen
as Thomas
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
as George Herbert
The Thirst: Blood War
as Jed
No Poster
Xenophobia
as Stone
The Haunting of Marsten Manor
as Captain Williams
Cold Ones
as K.C. Corcoran
Fighting Words
as David Settles
The Da Vinci Treasure
as Michael Archer
Hoboken Hollow
as Clayton Connelly
The Poseidon Adventure
as Doctor Ballard
Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'
as Self
Glass Trap
as Curtis
H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
as George Herbert
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
as Coach Fielding
Crimson Force
as Capt. Baskin
The Lost Angel
as Kuratha
Ordinary Miracles
as Jim Powell
The Hillside Strangler
as Kenneth Bianchi
A Killer Within
as Addison Terrill
Zolar
as Hedion
Nursie
as Zack
Hidalgo
as Preston Webb
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
as Jim Halsey
The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?
Gods and Generals
as Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain
Net Games
as Adam Vance
Killer Bees
as Sheriff Lyndon Harris
WillFull
as Nat Wolff
Night of the Wolf
as Sheriff Wade Messer
Askari
as Joss Mckinley
Asylum Days
as Nathan Devine
XCU: Extreme Close Up
as Geoffrey Liddy
Separate Ways
as Tom Milton
Burning Down the House
as Concierge
Lawless: Dead Evidence
as Dean Riley
The Million Dollar Kid
as Valentino
Hot Boyz
as Officer Roberts
The Prince and the Surfer
as Dean
Hitman's Run
as Tom Holly
Escape from Alaska
as Jack
The Glass Jar
as Lanois
Fatal Affair
as Malcolm 'Mack' Maddox
Red Team
as J.B. Gaines
Enemy Action
as John Reed
Cybermaster: Shepherd II
as Dakota
Charades
as Evan
Matter of Trust
as Michael D'Angelo
The Shepherd
as Boris Dakota
Sealed with a Kiss
as Detective Mick Cullen
Last Lives
as Aaron
The Big Fall
as Blaise Rybeck
Sleeping Dogs
as Sanchez Boon
Dead Fire
as Tucker
Laws of Deception
as Evan Marino
Hourglass
as Michael Jardine
Dilemma
as Thomas 'Quin' Quinlan
Pure Danger
as Johnie Dean
The Sweeper
as Mark Goddard
Baby Face Nelson
as Baby Face Nelson
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
as Mike
Dangerous Indiscretion
as Jim Lomax
Payback
as Oscar Bonsetter
Suspect Device
as Dan Jericho
Teresa's Tattoo
as Carl
Natural Selection
as Ben Braden / Alex Connelly
Jailbait
as Sergeant Lee Teffler
Gettysburg
as Lieut. Thomas D. Chamberlain
Treacherous
as Micky Stewert
Tattle Tale
as Bernard Sprat
Acting on Impulse
as Paul Stevens
To Protect and Serve
as Egan
Breaking the Rules
as Gene Michaels
That Night
as Rick
Nickel & Dime
as Jack Stone
Kid
as Kid
Curiosity Kills
as Cat Thomas
Far Out Man
as C. Thomas Howell
Side Out
as Monroe Clark
The Eyes of the Panther
as Jenner Brading
The Return of the Musketeers
as Raoul
Young Toscanini
as Arturo Toscanini
A Tiger's Tale
as Bubber Drumm
Into the Homeland
as Tripp Wilson
Soul Man
as Mark Watson
The Hitcher
as Jim Halsey
Secret Admirer
as Michael Ryan
Red Dawn
as Robert
Grandview, U.S.A.
as Tim Pearson
Tank
as Billy
The Outsiders
as Ponyboy Curtis
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
as Tyler
No Poster
The Horseman
Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
as Self
No Poster