C. Thomas Howell
For the 17th century bishop, see Thomas Howell (Bishop of Bristol).
Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966), usually credited as C. He is best known for having starred in the films The Outsiders and The Hitcher, as well as Soul Man, Red Dawn, Gettysburg, and Gods and Generals.
Early life
Christopher Thomas Howell, nicknamed either "Tommy" or "CT", was born on December 7, 1966 in Van Nuys, California, one of four children of Christopher "Chris" and Candice Howell.
He has two sisters, Stacy and Candy, and a brother, John. His father worked as a stunt coordinator since Howell was six. As a young boy, Howell wanted to be a stuntman and was even a child stunt player.
He began acting at the age of four, when cast in the Brian Keith Show in an episode called "The Little People".
When Howell was young his parents divorced, leaving his mother with both of her sons and daughter Stacy, and his father took little Candy with him. Howell shared his time with each parent and started his career through his father's job.
While growing up, he also spent time golfing with his grandfather (where his nickname "CT" came because that's how he was recorded on screen boards).
Career
Early career
Howell's first showbiz debut was acting in the Brian Keith Show episode "The Little People" as a little boy whose ears are being checked out by a doctor. When he got older, he tried stunt acting like his father and worked on commercials for a while. His first film appearance was in the 1977 made-for-television movie It Happened One Christmas.
In 1982 he was originally a child stuntman in Steven Spielberg's E.T. Afterward, due to his handsome features, he was cast as the lead role in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders, which earned him a Young Artist Award.
Following The Outsiders, he became a teen idol, appearing in teen magazines like Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine, which referred to him as "Tommy" and "Tom".
1980s
After The Outsiders he and his co-star Patrick Swayze reunited for Grandview, U.S.A. Howell was one of two final actors in the running to play Marty McFly in Back to the Future the other being Eric Stoltz, who was eventually selected.
Fox would later go on to replace Stoltz after filming had begun.
In 1986, he played a hitchhiker's target in the film The Hitcher, another of his successful movies. Following that, he starred as a white student who pretends to be black in the poorly received Soul Man.
In 1988, Howell played Arturo Toscanini in the only-known story of the composer in Franco Zeffirelli's Giovane Toscanini II with Irma Capece Minutolo and Elizabeth Taylor, which was one of his very first straight-to-video releases. Howell and Kelly Preston reunited as lovers in A Tiger's Tale.
1990s
At the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s, Howell focused on comedy in The Return of the Musketeers and Side Out.
After several straight-to-DVD features and a starring role in That Night, Howell achieved success again in the movie Gettysburg, which was popular with history buffs and history classrooms. He started an interest in crime-thrillers after starring in Payback and playing serial killer Baby Face Nelson in a film of the same name.
His made-for-television movie credits include Suspect Device, Sealed with a Kiss, Dads, and Dead Fire.
2000s
Howell returned to the theater in the 2000s in movies such as Asylum Days, the Gods and Generals sequel to Gettysburg, and The Hillside Strangler, playing a real-life serial killer. He also became a supporter of the production company The Asylum, which produced his straight-to-DVD movies.
In 2005, he starred as a man who gets separated from his wife and child in H.G.
After War of the Worlds, he later spent time directing unsuccessful straight to-DVD movies. He also appeared as a doctor in The Poseidon Adventure an adaptation of the 1972 film of the same name.
Coincidentally, his father's first stunt coordination was for the original movie, though uncredited. He appeared in the western The Pledge.
Television work
After filming The Outsiders, Howell starred in his own television series Two Marriages as a rebellious teenager, which ended after four episodes, but letters of support got it back on air.
Howell later expressed disappointment in the series, but eventually found the show more satisfying.
After Two Marriages, Howell made guest appearances in shows like Moonlighting and The Hitchhiker. He initially turned down a guest role in ER after missing out on a role he wanted, but his wife signed him up after yet another offer. Following ER, he guest appeared in 24.
The following year, he helped produce The Big Fall and Pure Danger. Isabelle appeared as Molly in Hope Ranch, credited as "Isabelle Howell", and Dashiell played Howell's son Alex, whom he's separated from, in H.G.
The family currently resides in Stevenson Ranch, California.
In 2008, Howell was a contestant in the reality game show "Celebracadabra" opposite other celebrities such as Hal Sparks, Carnie Wilson, and his War of the Worlds 2 co-star Christopher "Kid" Reid.