
C. Thomas Howell
Known for Acting · 209 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

Hawaii Five-0
2010
as Martin Cordova

The Walking Dead
2010
as Roy / Hilltop Resident

Blue Bloods
2010
as Alex Polanski

Castle
2009
as John Campbell

24
2001
as Barry Landes

Grimm
2011
as Weston Steward

Sons of Anarchy
2008
as Agent Frank Eagan

Marvel's The Punisher
2017
as Carson Wolf

ER
1994
as Vincent Jansen

Psych
2006
as Camden Driggs

Bosch
2015
as Louis Degner

SEAL Team
2017
as Ash Spenser

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
as Self

Will Trent
2023
as Warden Sturgill Hardly

MacGyver
2016
as Vasil

1923
2022
as Anders

V.I.P.
1998
as Phil Sherman

Longmire
2012
as Ray Stewart

The Terror
2018
as Major Bowen

Sleepy Hollow
2013
as SAC Mick Granger

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

The Glades
2010
as Peyton Robinson

Southland
2009
as Officer Dewey Dudek

Obliterated
2023
as Hagerty

The Hitchhiker
1983
as Gerald

Creepshow
2019
as Sam Spinster

Revolution
2012
as Bounty Hunter

Alphas
2011
as Eli Aquino

Twice in a Lifetime
1999
as Tony Tremaine / Phil Barlow

Stitchers
2015
as Daniel Stinger

Son of the Beach
2000

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 (165)

The Amazing Spider-Man
2012
as Jack's Father

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982
as Tyler

The Outsiders
1983
as Ponyboy Curtis

One Mile: Chapter One
2026
as Stanley Dixon

The Hitcher
1986
as Jim Halsey

American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
2009
as Alumnus Guy #2

Red Dawn
1984
as Robert

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
2013
as Professor Zoom / Thawne (voice)

One Mile: Chapter Two
2026
as Stanley Dixon

Gettysburg
1993
as Lieut. Thomas D. Chamberlain

Hidalgo
2004
as Preston Webb

Reagan
2024
as Caspar Weinberger

Old Dads
2023
as Ed Cameron

Where the Wind Blows
2025
as Nathan

LBJ
2017
as Walter Jenkins

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
2018
as Zoom (voice)

Secret Admirer
1985
as Michael Ryan

Tank
1984
as Billy

Payback
1995
as Oscar Bonsetter

Soul Man
1986
as Mark Watson

The Poseidon Adventure
2005
as Doctor Ballard

Justice League: Gods and Monsters
2015
as Dr. Will Magnus (voice)

Glass Trap
2005
as Curtis

Toxic
2008
as LIttle Joe

Restitution
2011
as John Youngstown

Woodlawn
2015
as George 'Shorty' White

Gods and Generals
2003
as Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain

Dead Fire
1997
as Tucker

Separate Ways
2001
as Tom Milton

Home Invasion
2012
as Ray

Side Out
1990
as Monroe Clark

Lazarus Rising
2015
as Silent Cal

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
2005
as George Herbert

That Night
1992
as Rick

Ride
2024
as John Hawkins

Urban Country
2018
as Jim Craft

Wedding Day
2012
as Russ

I Am Patrick Swayze
2019
as Self

The Jailhouse
2009
as Seth Delray

Cross
2011
as Jake

A Question of Faith
2017
as John Danielson

Fighting Words
2006
as David Settles

Nursie
2004
as Zack

Zolar
2004
as Hedion

The Return of the Musketeers
1989
as Raoul

Tattle Tale
1993
as Bernard Sprat

The Land That Time Forgot
2009
as Frost Michaels

The Shepherd
1998
as Boris Dakota

The Hillside Strangler
2004
as Kenneth Bianchi

Askari
2001
as Joss Mckinley

Into the Homeland
1987
as Tripp Wilson

Blood Lust
2016
as Ryan

Rescuing Madison
2014
as Rad

A Killer Within
2004
as Addison Terrill

Hot Boyz
2000
as Officer Roberts

Last Lives
1997
as Aaron

Young Toscanini
1988
as Arturo Toscanini

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
2008
as George Herbert

Shifting Gears
2018
as Jenkins

Grandview, U.S.A.
1984
as Tim Pearson

Acting on Impulse
1993
as Paul Stevens

Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
2019
as Captain Miles Browning

Cold Ones
2007
as K.C. Corcoran

Ordinary Miracles
2005
as Jim Powell

Bigfoot Wars
2014
as Zeke

The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
2003
as Jim Halsey

The Million Dollar Kid
2000
as Valentino

The Sweeper
1996
as Mark Goddard

Camel Spiders
2011
as Sheriff Beaumont

Crimson Force
2005
as Capt. Baskin

Curiosity Kills
1990
as Cat Thomas

The Grind
2009
as Luke

Deadman Standing
2018
as The Stranger

Big Game
2008
as Sully

Natural Selection
1994
as Ben Braden / Alex Connelly

Teresa's Tattoo
1994
as Carl

MoniKa
2012
as Double

Jailbait
1993
as Sergeant Lee Teffler

Rivers 9
2015
as Sheriff Quentin

Spirit Riders
2015
as Keith

An Amish Murder
2013
as Nathan Detrick

Beast Mode
2020
as Breen Nash

Category 5
2014
as Charlie DuPuis

Dangerous Indiscretion
1995
as Jim Lomax

Hoboken Hollow
2006
as Clayton Connelly

Nickel & Dime
1992
as Jack Stone

The Lost Angel
2005
as Kuratha

The Day the Earth Stopped
2008
as Josh Myron

Charades
1998
as Evan

Magic Hour
2015
as Tom Worthy

Rich Boy, Rich Girl
2018
as Blake

Net Games
2003
as Adam Vance

Red Team
1999
as J.B. Gaines

Mad Dogs and Englishmen
1995
as Mike

Treacherous
1993
as Micky Stewert

Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'
2005
as Self

Enemy Action
1999
as John Reed

Baby Face Nelson
1996
as Baby Face Nelson

Kid
1990
as Kid

The Terror Experiment
2010
as Chief Grasso

The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
2005
as Coach Fielding

Dilemma
1997
as Thomas 'Quin' Quinlan

Breaking the Rules
1992
as Gene Michaels

Killer Bees
2002
as Sheriff Lyndon Harris

Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
as Self

The 'E.T.' Journals
2012
as Self

Attack of the Killer Donuts
2016
as Officer Roberts

Storm Rider
2013
as Mitch Fielding

The Shadow People
2017
as Kaine

Suspect Device
1995
as Dan Jericho

A Tiger's Tale
1988
as Bubber Drumm

Escape from Alaska
1999
as Jack

Burning Down the House
2001
as Concierge

Christmas Belle
2013
as Rex Everhart
Borrowed Moments
2015
as Jack

Advance & Retreat
2016
as Nathan Shapiro

Hourglass
1997
as Michael Jardine

Pure Danger
1996
as Johnie Dean

Far Out Man
1990
as Himself

The Big Fall
1997
as Blaise Rybeck
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 209 credits spanning from 1982 to 2026, C. Thomas Howell has appeared in 165 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 CineFlixo, 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
- One Mile: Chapter One (2026) — as Stanley Dixon
- 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 CineFlixo 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.