C. Thomas Howell

American actor and film directorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actor and film director[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

For the rugby league footballer of the 1890s and 1900s, see Tommy Howell.Template:BLP sources

**Christopher Thomas Howell** (born December 7, 1966) is an American actor and director. He has starred in the films *Soul Man*, *The Hitcher*, *Grandview U.S.A.*, *Red Dawn*, *Secret Admirer* and *The Outsiders*. He has also appeared in *Gettysburg* and *Gods and Generals* as Thomas Chamberlain, *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*, *The Amazing Spider-Man*, *Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox* and *Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay*.

## Early life

Howell was born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles to Christopher N. and Candice Howell. He has two sisters, Stacy and Candy, and a brother, John.

His father worked as a stunt coordinator and rodeo performer. As a young boy, Howell wanted to be a stuntman and was a child stunt performer. He was also a rodeo star. He began acting at the age of four, when he was cast in the *Brian Keith Show* episode, "The Little People".

When Howell was young, his parents divorced. Howell graduated from Saugus High School in 1984.

## Career

Howell's 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.

He tried rodeo riding for a few years. In 1982, he made his film debut as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*. Afterward, at 15, he was cast as the lead role Ponyboy Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola's *The Outsiders*, which earned him a Young Artist Award.

### 1980s

In 1984 he and *Outsiders* co-star, Patrick Swayze, reunited for *Grandview, U.S.A.*, also with Jamie Lee Curtis, and *Red Dawn*, with Charlie Sheen and Lea Thompson. Howell also had a pivotal role in *Tank*, with James Garner and Jenilee Harrison. In 1985 he again starred in the lead role in *Secret Admirer*, opposite Lori Loughlin and Kelly Preston.

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. Michael J. 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*. The sequel, in which he also starred, was released in 2003. He starred as a white student who pretends to be black to receive a scholarship in the poorly received *Soul Man*, which currently holds an aggregated score of 14% at Rotten Tomatoes.

Howell has since stated that he does not regret playing the main character in blackface and that *Soul Man* was "an important part of [his] life" and "an important film" for racial relations in the United States.

In 1988, Howell played the young Arturo Toscanini in the story of the world-renowned conductors debut in Franco Zeffirelli's *Giovane Toscanini* with Irma Capece Minutolo and Elizabeth Taylor. The film was never released domestically.

### 1990s

At the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, Howell appeared in *The Return of the Musketeers* and *Side Out*. In 1993, he starred with Linda Fiorentino and Nancy Allen in the campy thriller *Acting on Impulse*.

After several straight-to-video features and a starring role in *That Night*, he achieved success again in the film *Gettysburg*, which was popular with history buffs and history classrooms. He starred as Mike, a motorcycle courier in *Mad Dogs and Englishmen* (U.S. title: *Shameless*) with Elizabeth Hurley.

His made-for-television film credits include *Suspect Device*, *Sealed with a Kiss* and *Dead Fire*. He starred in *Dads*, an unsold pilot. He also appeared in the short-lived TV series *Kindred: The Embraced*.

He started an interest in crime-thrillers after starring in *Payback* and playing gangster Baby Face Nelson in a film of the same name. He went on to direct and star in the 1996 direct-to-video release, *Pure Danger*, featuring alongside Teri Ann Linn and prop comic, Carrot Top.

### 2000s

Howell returned to acting in the 2000s in films such as *Asylum Days*, the *Gods and Generals* prequel to *Gettysburg*, and *The Hillside Strangler*, in which he played serial killer Kenneth Bianchi.

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.Template:Cn

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.

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. After *War of the Worlds*, he spent time directing straight to-DVD films. Template:Cn

Also in 2008, he directed and starred in *The Day the Earth Stopped*, a mockbuster intended to capitalize on *The Day the Earth Stood Still*.

He appeared as a doctor in *The Poseidon Adventure*, an adaptation of the 1972 film of the same name. His father's first stunt co-ordination was for the original film, albeit uncredited. He briefly hosted a show on KLSX later that year.Template:Cn

### 2010s

Howell appeared in the 2012 film *The Amazing Spider-Man*.

### Television work

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, but eventually found it more satisfying.

After *Two Marriages*, Howell made guest appearances in shows like *Moonlighting* and *The Hitchhiker*. In 2000, Howell played a doctor stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash in *Amazon*.

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*. He guest starred in five episodes of *Criminal Minds* on CBS as serial killer George Foyet (The Boston Reaper), a recurring villain based on the Zodiac Killer.Template:Cn

Howell played the role of Officer Bill 'Dewey' Dudek, a police officer recovering from alcoholism, in the L.A. police drama *Southland*.Template:Cn He appeared in Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 and was promoted to a series regular for Season 5, which began in February 2013. The series was cancelled on May 10, 2013.Template:Cn

In 2011, he guest starred as an inmate on *The Glades* and in *Torchwood: Miracle Day*.

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*.

### Off-screen

Howell has worked with Francis Ford Coppola many times and in other areas of making motion pictures including writing, producing, and directing. In 1995, he wrote and directed *Hourglass*, in which he starred with Sofia Shinas. The following year, he helped produce *The Big Fall* and *Pure Danger*.Template:Cn

Howell did not write or direct another film until 2004. He and his father co-wrote the made-for-television film *Hope Ranch*, which Howell produced. Howell went on to write and produce *Blind Injustice* the next year. Two years later he produced *The Stolen Moments of September*.Template:Cn

## Personal life

In the 1980s he dated actress Kyle Richards. Howell married actress Rae Dawn Chong in 1989, whom he met while co-starring with her in the 1986 film *Soul Man*. They divorced the following year in 1990. Howell married his second wife Sylvie Anderson, in 1992. Together, the couple had three children. In 2016, Anderson filed for divorce.

## References

1. ↑ "C. Thomas Howell". *AllMovie*. https://www.allmovie.com/artist/c-thomas-howell-p33566.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 aboutct Template:Webarchive. Cthomashowell.net; retrieved 2011-12-03.
3. ↑ Tommy Howell: I'm Just a Normal Kid! Template:Webarchive. Cthowell.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-03.
4. ↑ Marriage Template:Webarchive. Cthowell.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-03.
5. ↑ Cooking Template:Webarchive. Cthowell.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-03.
6. ↑ https://www.vulture.com/amp/2012/09/the-lost-roles-of-back-to-the-future.html
7. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes: Soul Man (1986)". http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/soul\_man/.
8. ↑ Harris, Will. "C. Thomas Howell on The Outsiders, blackface, and how Marlboros got him cast in E.T.". *The Onion AV Club*. The Onion AV Club. https://film.avclub.com/c-thomas-howell-on-the-outsiders-blackface-and-how-m-1798236526.
9. ↑ "War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave" (in no). https://tvguide.vg.no/program/war-of-the-worlds-2-the-next-wave.
10. ↑ "Commentary: Fox takes action against 'Day the Earth Stopped'" (in en). 2008-11-11. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/commentary-fox-takes-action-day-122770.
11. ↑ Interview for the Poseidon Adventure Remake, Cthomashowell.net; retrieved 2011-12-03.
12. ↑ Franich, Darren (January 10, 2011). "'Spider-Man': C. Thomas Howell joins the reboot". https://ew.com/article/2011/01/10/spider-man-c-thomas-howell/.
13. ↑ Two Marriages Template:Webarchive. cthowell.net
14. ↑ Torchwood: Miracle Day casting news. Den of Geek; retrieved 2011-12-03.
15. ↑ *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills*, Season 9, Episode 1: "Lucy Lucy Apple Juicy". Bravo, 2019.
16. ↑ https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1990-06-27-9006270192-story,amp.html
17. ↑ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-24-ca-529-story.html%3f\_amp=true
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 https://www.hollywood.com/general/c-thomas-howells-wife-files-for-divorce-60549426/

## External links

* Template:IMDb name
* Review of *Baby Face Nelson* at Manor on Movies

Template:C. Thomas Howell Template:Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film Template:Authority control