C. Thomas Howell

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"Thomas Howell" redirects here. For the 17th century bishop, see Thomas Howell (Bishop of Bristol).
C. Thomas Howell
Born Christopher Thomas Howell
December 7, 1966 (1966-12-07) (age 41)
Los Angeles, California, USA

Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. He started his career in the 1980s and is best known for having starred in the films The Outsiders and The Hitcher, as well as Soul Man and Red Dawn.

Howell is noted for starring in many "crime thrillers" and for his teenage "pretty boy" features, which was a reason for his many lead roles in the 1980s.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] 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.[1] His father worked as a stunt coordinator ever since his son 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 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 either 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).

[edit] Acting career

His first film appearance was in It Happened One Christmas. In 1982 he was originally a child stuntman in Steven Speilberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. That eventually lead to a small role as a bicycle riders near the ending. Afterwards, 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. Since then, it became obvious that he would have a successful career. Following The Outsiders, Howell starred in his own television series Two Marriages.

After The Outsiders he and his costar Patrick Swayze reunited for Grandview, U.S.A. and Red Dawn, the first movie to ever be rated PG-13, in 1984. Before Red Dawn, he appeared in Tank, as the son of James Garner and Shirley Jones. Following Red Dawn, he again starred as 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 go on to replace Stoltz after filming had begun.

In 1986, he starred as a hitcher's victim in The Hitcher, another of his successful movies. The sequel was released in 2003.Following that, he starred as a white student who pretends to be black in the poorly received but classic Soul Man. He later starred in the short-lived TV series Kindred: The Embraced.

In 2005, he and his The Outsiders costar Tom Cruise each starred in a different version of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, Cruise starring in the theatrical release, with Howell in the successful straight-to-DVD version. Because of its success, Howell directed and starred in a straight-to-DVD sequel in 2008. After War of the Worlds, he appeared as a doctor in The Poseidon Adventure an adaption of the 1972 film of the same name. Coincidentally, his father's first stunt coordination was for the original movie, though uncredited.

[edit] Rodeo career

After an appearance in the movie It Happened One Christmas, Howell stopped acting and became a rodeo champion at the California Junior Rodeo Association. In August 1979, he was named "All Around Cowboy".

[edit] Personal life

In his single days, Howell shared a place with his friend Darren Dalton, whom he costarred with in The Outsiders and Red Dawn and who later appears in his War of the Worlds 2.From July 11, 1986, to 1990, Howell was married to actress Rae Dawn Chong, his Soul Man co-star. He remarried in 1992 to Sylvie Anderson. They have three children, Isabelle (born in 1993), Dashiell (born 1997), and Liam (born 2001).

[edit] In popular culture

The now-defunct metalcore band Botch recorded a song called "C. Thomas Howell as the 'Soul Man'" as part of their 1999 album We are the Romans.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television

  • "Celebracadabra" (2008) TV series (Winner)
  • "17th Annual American Century Championship" (2006) (mini) TV mini-series
  • "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (1 episode, 2006) - Episode dated 7 April 2006 (2006) TV episode
  • Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders' (2005) (V)
  • H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds: Behind the Scenes (2005) (V)
  • "Only in LA" (1 episode, 2005)
  • Lemony Snicket's (2005) TV episode
  • The Hitcher - How Do These Movies Get Made? (2003) (V)
  • The Making of 'Gettysburg' (1993) (V)
  • Far Out Man (1990)
  • Battle of the Network Stars XVI (1984) (TV)

Summerland

Dads [pilot] 2008 [tv]

[edit] References

  1. ^ aboutct

[edit] External links