C. Thomas Howell

Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966)^[1] is an American actor and director. After making his film debut with a supporting role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Howell had his breakout with a lead role as Ponyboy Curtis in the coming-of-age film The Outsiders (1983).

Following his breakout, Howell had starring roles in the films Tank (1984), Grandview, U.S.A. (1984), Red Dawn (1984), Secret Admirer (1985), and The Hitcher (1986). His lead role in the commercially successful yet controversial film Soul Man (1986) damaged his status as a leading man in Hollywood.

In the 1990s, Howell starred in the films Side Out (1990), That Night (1992), and Gettysburg (1993), and had main roles as Detective Frank Kohanek on the Fox horror television series Kindred: The Embraced (1996) and Dr. Alex Kennedy on the syndicated series Amazon (1999–2000). He portrayed Baby Face Nelson in the biographical film Baby Face Nelson (1995). In the 2000s, Howell starred in the film Gods and Generals (2003) and had a recurring, later main, role as Bill "Dewey" Dudek on the NBC and TNT crime drama series Southland (2009–2013). He had a supporting role in the film Hidalgo (2004).

In the 2010s, Howell starred in the films Woodlawn (2015) and A Question of Faith (2017), and had a supporting role in the superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). He had voice roles in the superhero animated films Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013), Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015), and Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018). Howell also portrayed Walter Jenkins in the political drama film LBJ (2016). In the 2020s, Howell had a main role as Hagerty on the Netflix series Obliterated (2023) and portrayed Caspar Weinberger in the biographical film Reagan (2024).

Howell was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Christopher N. and Candice Howell. He has three siblings.^[2]

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.^[3]

When Howell was young, his parents divorced.^[4][5] Howell graduated from Saugus High School in 1984.^[6]

Howell made his show business debut in the situation comedy The Brian Keith Show. When he was older, he acted in commercials.^[7]

In 1982, Howell made his film debut as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.^[8]

At the age of 15 in 1981, Howell was cast in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 cinematic adaptation of S. E. Hinton's novel, The Outsiders.^[9] 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."^[10] The coming-of-age film^[11] went on to become a cult classic,^[12][13] and featured an ensemble cast that included Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Leif Garrett, Diane Lane, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio, and Patrick Swayze.^[14] Howell's portrayal of Ponyboy was his breakthrough role,^[15] and it earned him a Young Artist Award.^[16]

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. 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.^[17]

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.^[18] In 1986, Howell was a hitchhiker's target in the horror film The Hitcher. He also starred in the 2003 sequel The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting.^[19] In 1986, Howell starred in the satire Soul Man, a controversial film in which Howell appears in blackface.^[20] The film was widely condemned and while it was a box office success, it did not help Howell's career. Howell then played the young Arturo Toscanini in Franco Zeffirelli's 1988 film Young Toscanini.^[21]

In 1992, Howell starred in romantic drama That Night alongside actress Juliette Lewis. A film based on the novel of the same name by Alice McDermott. In 1993, Howell starred with Linda Fiorentino and Nancy Allen in the thriller Acting on Impulse. He then achieved success in the film Gettysburg, which was popular with history buffs and history classrooms. In 1995, he starred as Mike, a motorcycle courier in the poorly received Mad Dogs and Englishmen (U.S. title: Shameless) with Elizabeth Hurley.

Following this, Howell starred in Payback and then played gangster Baby Face Nelson in the film of the same name. He starred in and made his directorial debut with the 1996 direct-to-video release Pure Danger, which also featured Teri Ann Linn and comic Carrot Top.

In 2000, Howell played a doctor stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash in the television show Amazon. In 2004, he played serial killer Kenneth Bianchi in The Hillside Strangler.

In 2005, he starred in H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, one of three 2005 adaptations of the novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Howell directed and starred in a straight-to-DVD sequel War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave in 2008.^[22] Also in 2005, he reunited with his Secret Admirer co-star Lori Loughlin when he had a recurring role on her television show Summerland as Zac Efron's father. Howell appeared as a doctor in The Poseidon Adventure, an adaptation of the 1972 film of the same name. His father's first (uncredited) stunt co-ordination was for the original film.^[23]

In 2006, Howell starred in Hoboken Hollow. He also became a supporter of the production company The Asylum, which produced his straight-to-DVD films. In 2008, Howell directed and starred in The Day the Earth Stopped, a mockbuster intended to capitalize on The Day the Earth Stood Still.^[24]

Beginning in 2009, Howell guest starred in Criminal Minds on CBS as serial killer George Foyet (The Boston Reaper), a recurring villain based on The Boston Strangler. Also beginning in 2009, he played the role of Officer Bill "Dewey" Dudek, a police officer recovering from alcoholism, in the L.A. police drama Southland.^[25][26]

In 2011, Howell guest starred as an inmate on The Glades and in Torchwood: Miracle Day.^[27]

Howell appeared in the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man.^[28]

Starting in 2015, Howell has had a recurring role as Dr. Daniel Stinger in the Freeform show Stitchers. In 2017, he had a recurring role as Ash Spenser, a retired Navy SEAL, in the CBS show SEAL Team.

In 2016 and 2018, Howell had a recurring guest-star role as Paul Belmont, a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander at Camp Pendleton, in Seasons 1 and 3 of Animal Kingdom.

In 2023, Howell starred in Obliterated on Netflix as Harry Haggerty.

In the 1980s, Howell dated actress Kyle Richards.^[29] In 1989, he married actress Rae Dawn Chong, whom he met while co-starring with her in the 1986 film Soul Man.^[20] They divorced the following year.^[30] Howell married his second wife, Sylvie Anderson, in 1992, and the couple had three children.^[31] Anderson filed for divorce in 2016.^[31]

In November 2001, Howell was acquitted of five misdemeanor charges, including hit and run and brandishing a weapon arising out of a confrontation with a skateboarder in Southern California.^[32]

• C. Thomas Howell at IMDb
• THE OUTSIDERS Reunion with Francis Ford Coppola, Ralph Macchio & C. Thomas Howell – 50th American Film Institute, Life Achievement Award to Francis Ford Coppola, April 26, 2025.