C. Thomas Howell

**Christopher Thomas Howell** is a semi-recurring actor on The CW's *Dynasty*, portraying the role of Max Van Kirk.

## Biography

### Early Life

Howell was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Christopher N. and Candice Howell. He has three siblings, sisters Stacy and Candy, and brother John.

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 child, 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.

### Career

As a child, Howell made his acting debut in *The Brian Keith Show*. When he got older, he acted in commercials. In 1982, Howell made his film debut as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*.

At the age of 15, 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.

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*. Howell also played the young Arturo Toscanini in Franco Zeffirelli's 1988 film, *Giovane Toscanini*, though it was never released domestically.

In 1993, Howell starred in the campy thriller *Acting on Impulse*. He then achieved success in the film *Gettysburg*, and starred as Mike, a motorcycle courier, in the poorly received *Mad Dogs and Englishmen*. Following this, Howell starred in *Payback* and then played gangster Baby Face Nelson in the film of the same name. He went on to direct and star in the 1996 direct-to-video release, *Pure Danger*.

In 2000, Howell played a doctor stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash in the television show *Amazon*. In 2004, he played serial killer Kenneth Bianchi in *The Hillside Strangler*. 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. Also in 2005, he reunited with his co-star Lori Loughlin when he had a recurring role on her television series *Summerland* as Zac Efron's father. Howell appeared as a doctor in *The Poseidon Adventure*, an adaptation of the 1972 film of the same name.

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. In 2008, Howell directed and starred in *The Day the Earth Stopped*, a mockbuster intended to capitalize on *The Day the Earth Stood Still*. Beginning in 2009, Howell guest starred in *Criminal Minds* on CBS as serial killer George Foyet (The Boston Reaper), a recurring villain based on The Boston Strangler. Also beginning in 2009, he played the role of Officer Bill 'Dewey' Dudek, a police officer recovering from alcoholism, in the L.A. police drama *Southland*.

In 2011, Howell guest starred as an inmate on *The Glades* and in *Torchwood: Miracle Day*. Howell also appeared in the 2012 film *The Amazing Spider-Man*. 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*. In 2018, Howell guest starred as Max Van Kirk in the first two episodes of the second season of The CW's *Dynasty*.

### Personal Life

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

In November 2001, Howell was acquitted of five misdemeanor charges arising out of a confrontation with a skateboarder in southern California.