C. Thomas Howell | WatchedThis
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 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.
Filmography Movies
Acting
The Outsiders
In 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival and redemption exposes the fragile innocence and enduring bonds of youth on the wrong side of town.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
Net Games
The successful publicist Adam Vance of the SFC is in the middle of a campaign to get an important Japanese client and is needy of sex because his traumatized wife Jennifer Vance was raped one year ago and is totally frigid, refusing to have sex. His close friend and colleague Ray Walters suggests Adam to visit the porn site cyber chat.net, where lonely people have erotic conversation. Adam meets Angel, a luscious woman and hacker while his wife is visiting her rapist in the prison with her therapist as part of her treatment. When Adam decides to finish his virtual affair with Angel, he is chased and blackmailed by the deranged sexy killer.
Red Dawn
It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town—and their country—from invading Soviet forces.
Hidalgo
Set in 1890, this is the story of a Pony Express courier who travels to Arabia to compete with his horse, Hidalgo, in a dangerous race for a massive contest prize, in an adventure that sends the pair around the world...
Fatal Affair
Young advertising executive Mack Maddox is on a career fast-track. Happily married with a young daughter, Mack seems to have it all... until a bizarre series of events make him the target for murder.
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
A sadistic serial killer terrorizes a couple driving on a rural highway in Texas while killing numerous people and framing them for his killings.
A Killer Within
Addison Terrill, a former district attorney now in a lucrative private practice, has what seems to be the perfect life. But life as he knows it is turned upside down when he arrives home from work late one night to find his wife brutally murdered and his son unconscious in critical condition at the hospital. Now, fingered as a suspect by the police, Addison must race to find the real killer and prove his innocence before it's too late.
The Land That Time Forgot
Shipwrecked castaways stumble upon the mysterious island of Caprona in the Bermuda Triangle, confronting man-eating dinosaurs and a stranded German U-Boat crew while trying to escape.
Tank
After relocating his family - and his prized restored Sherman tank - to a small Georgia town, Sargeant Major Zack Carey butts heads with the local sheriff. Zack doesn't agree with the ways of the local police, and when the sheriff goes after Zack's son, it's time for Zack to roll out the Sherman tank and wage a little war of his own.
Production
The Land That Time Forgot
Shipwrecked castaways stumble upon the mysterious island of Caprona in the Bermuda Triangle, confronting man-eating dinosaurs and a stranded German U-Boat crew while trying to escape.
The Genesis Code
A college hockey player and a female journalism student struggle to find common ground with their spiritual faith and scientific studies.
The Day the Earth Stopped
Hundreds of massive intergalactic robots appear in all of the world's major capitals with an ultimatum: Prove the value of human civilization or be destroyed.
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
Two years after the Martian invasion, George Herbert's worst fears are realized: The Aliens have returned. As a second wave of Martian walkers lay waste to what's left of Earth, an alliance of military forces prepares a daring attack on the Red Planet itself. Once again, the future of mankind hangs in the balance.
Blind Injustice
A blind woman finds herself the target of an attacker again after the person originally convicted of her rape is found to be innocent of the crime.
Blind Injustice
A blind woman finds herself the target of an attacker again after the person originally convicted of her rape is found to be innocent of the crime.
Hourglass
A business executive gets mixed up with a killer female and her lesbian roommate, who plot to take over his fashion business.
Hourglass
A business executive gets mixed up with a killer female and her lesbian roommate, who plot to take over his fashion business.
Pure Danger
A paroled short order cook and a waitress go on the run with a bag of diamonds that accidentally falls into their possession, prompting two warring gangs to come after them.
The Big Fall
L.A. private detective is hired to investigate the disappearance of an alluring woman's brother. Surrounded by double-crossing deals and dangerous relation, Rybeck will have to plunge headfirst into his deadliest case ever.
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