C. Thomas Howell
Known for Acting · 210 credits
- Born
- 1966-12-07 (age 59)
- Place of birth
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Also known as
- Christopher Thomas Howell · Tom Howell · Си Томас Хауэлл · C·湯瑪斯·哈威爾 · سی توماس هاول
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 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.
Known For
TV Shows (44)
Criminal Minds
2005
as The Reaper / George Foyet
The Blacklist
2013
as Earl Fagen
The Walking Dead
2010
as Roy / Hilltop Resident
Blue Bloods
2010
as Alex Polanski
Castle
2009
as John Campbell
24
2001
as Barry Landes
Hawaii Five-0
2010
as Martin Cordova
Marvel's The Punisher
2017
as Carson Wolf
Grimm
2011
as Weston Steward
ER
1994
as Vincent Jansen
Sons of Anarchy
2008
as Agent Frank Eagan
Psych
2006
as Camden Driggs
Bosch
2015
as Louis Degner
SEAL Team
2017
as Ash Spenser
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
as Self
1923
2022
as Anders
MacGyver
2016
as Vasil
V.I.P.
1998
as Phil Sherman
Will Trent
2023
as Warden Sturgill Hardly
Longmire
2012
as Ray Stewart
Sleepy Hollow
2013
as SAC Mick Granger
The Terror
2018
as Major Bowen
The Outer Limits
1995
as Capt. Miles Davidow
Moonlighting
1985
as Waiter (uncredited)
The District
2000
as Chris Gunner
Torchwood
2006
as The Gentleman
Celebrity Ghost Stories
2009
as Self
Obliterated
2023
as Hagerty
Southland
2009
as Officer Dewey Dudek
The Glades
2010
as Peyton Robinson
The Hitchhiker
1983
as Gerald
Creepshow
2019
as Sam Spinster
Alphas
2011
as Eli Aquino
Revolution
2012
as Bounty Hunter
Twice in a Lifetime
1999
as Tony Tremaine / Phil Barlow
Son of the Beach
2000
Stitchers
2015
as Daniel Stinger
Summerland
2004
as Kyle Bale
The Good Cop
2018
Kindred: The Embraced
1996
as Det. Frank Kohanek
Amazon
1999
as Dr. Alex Kennedy
Ties That Bind
2015
as Mr. Witherspoon
Nightmare Classics
1989
as Jenner Brading
Celebracadabra
2008
Movies (166)
The Amazing Spider-Man
2012
as Jack's Father
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982
as Tyler
The Outsiders
1983
as Ponyboy Curtis
Red Dawn
1984
as Robert
The Hitcher
1986
as Jim Halsey
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
2009
as Alumnus Guy #2
Old Dads
2023
as Ed Cameron
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
2013
as Professor Zoom / Thawne (voice)
Hidalgo
2004
as Preston Webb
One Mile: Chapter One
2026
as Stanley Dixon
Gettysburg
1993
as Lieut. Thomas D. Chamberlain
Reagan
2024
as Caspar Weinberger
One Mile: Chapter Two
2026
as Stanley Dixon
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
2018
as Zoom (voice)
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
2015
as Dr. Will Magnus (voice)
Secret Admirer
1985
as Michael Ryan
Soul Man
1986
as Mark Watson
The Poseidon Adventure
2005
as Doctor Ballard
Payback
1995
as Oscar Bonsetter
Tank
1984
as Billy
LBJ
2017
as Walter Jenkins
Glass Trap
2005
as Curtis
Urban Country
2018
as Jim Craft
Woodlawn
2015
as George 'Shorty' White
Gods and Generals
2003
as Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain
A Question of Faith
2017
as John Danielson
That Night
1992
as Rick
The Return of the Musketeers
1989
as Raoul
H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
2005
as George Herbert
Side Out
1990
as Monroe Clark
Toxic
2008
as LIttle Joe
Cross
2011
as Jake
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
2003
as Jim Halsey
Rivers 9
2015
as Sheriff Quentin
Separate Ways
2001
as Tom Milton
Dead Fire
1997
as Tucker
I Am Patrick Swayze
2019
as Self
The Land That Time Forgot
2009
as Frost Michaels
The Hillside Strangler
2004
as Kenneth Bianchi
Curiosity Kills
1990
as Cat Thomas
Hot Boyz
2000
as Officer Roberts
Into the Homeland
1987
as Tripp Wilson
Lawless: Dead Evidence
2001
as Dean Riley
Category 5
2014
as Charlie DuPuis
Ride
2024
as John Hawkins
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
2008
as George Herbert
Crimson Force
2005
as Capt. Baskin
The Sweeper
1996
as Mark Goddard
Jailbait
1993
as Sergeant Lee Teffler
An Amish Murder
2013
as Nathan Detrick
Storm Rider
2013
as Mitch Fielding
Acting on Impulse
1993
as Paul Stevens
MoniKa
2012
as Double
Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'
2005
as Self
Wedding Day
2012
as Russ
Kid
1990
as Kid
The Terror Experiment
2010
as Chief Grasso
A Killer Within
2004
as Addison Terrill
Burning Down the House
2001
as Concierge
Teresa's Tattoo
1994
as Carl
The Day the Earth Stopped
2008
as Josh Myron
Spirit Riders
2015
as Keith
Restitution
2011
as John Youngstown
Hitman's Run
1999
as Tom Holly
Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
as Self
Big Game
2008
as Sully
Deadman Standing
2018
as The Stranger
The Million Dollar Kid
2000
as Valentino
Hoboken Hollow
2006
as Clayton Connelly
Grandview, U.S.A.
1984
as Tim Pearson
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
2019
as Captain Miles Browning
Camel Spiders
2011
as Sheriff Beaumont
Tattle Tale
1993
as Bernard Sprat
Attack of the Killer Donuts
2016
as Officer Roberts
Lazarus Rising
2015
as Silent Cal
Dangerous Indiscretion
1995
as Jim Lomax
The Big Fall
1997
as Blaise Rybeck
Beast Mode
2020
as Breen Nash
Young Toscanini
1988
as Arturo Toscanini
Fighting Words
2006
as David Settles
A Gunfighter's Pledge
2008
as Horn
Pure Danger
1996
as Johnie Dean
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
2005
as Coach Fielding
The Jailhouse
2009
as Seth Delray
Far Out Man
1990
as Himself
Disconnected
2017
as Robert Crawford
Suspect Device
1995
as Dan Jericho
Nickel & Dime
1992
as Jack Stone
Net Games
2003
as Adam Vance
Killer Bees
2002
as Sheriff Lyndon Harris
Rescuing Madison
2014
as Rad
Treacherous
1993
as Micky Stewert
Where the Wind Blows
2025
as Nathan
The Grind
2009
as Luke
Askari
2001
as Joss Mckinley
Hourglass
1997
as Michael Jardine
Night of the Wolf
2002
as Sheriff Wade Messer
Natural Selection
1994
as Ben Braden / Alex Connelly
Christmas Belle
2013
as Rex Everhart
Shifting Gears
2018
as Jenkins
The Prince and the Surfer
1999
as Dean
Ordinary Miracles
2005
as Jim Powell
Bigfoot Wars
2014
as Zeke
Baby Face Nelson
1996
as Baby Face Nelson
Sleeping Dogs
1997
as Sanchez Boon
Enemy Action
1999
as John Reed
A Christmas Eve Miracle
2015
as Jack Carter
Home Invasion
2012
as Ray
Confessions of a Womanizer
2014
as Tony
Dilemma
1997
as Thomas 'Quin' Quinlan
Breaking the Rules
1992
as Gene Michaels
Last Lives
1997
as Aaron
A Tiger's Tale
1988
as Bubber Drumm
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
1995
as Mike
WillFull
2002
as Nat Wolff
Advance & Retreat
2016
as Nathan Shapiro
XCU: Extreme Close Up
2001
as Geoffrey Liddy
Zolar
2004
as Hedion
Red Team
1999
as J.B. Gaines
Don't Pass Me By
2013
as Jack
About C. Thomas Howell
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.… With 210 credits spanning from 1982 to 2026, C. Thomas Howell has appeared in 166 films and 44 TV shows.
Fans searching for C. Thomas Howell movies, C. Thomas Howell filmography, or the latest projects starring C. Thomas Howell can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular C. Thomas Howell Movies
- The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) — as Jack's Father
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) — as Tyler
- The Outsiders (1983) — as Ponyboy Curtis
- Red Dawn (1984) — as Robert
- The Hitcher (1986) — as Jim Halsey
Where to Watch C. Thomas Howell Films
Most C. Thomas Howell movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring C. Thomas Howell, check our movies catalogue and browse page.