C American actor and filmmaker Thomas Howell is well-known. After starring in films such as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Red Dawn,” “The Hitcher,” “Secret Admirer,” and “The Soul Man,” he attracted attention from viewers all around the world. His portrayal of Ponyboy Curtis in the Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Outsiders” is still arguably his most well-known performance to date. In addition, he directed a number of low-budget films, including War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave, The Land That Time Forgot, and The Day the Earth Stopped. Howell has also had a very busy career in television. His television appearances include “Kindred: The Embraced,” “Amazon,” “Southland,” and “Stitchers.” In the criminal thriller “Criminal Minds,” he played the Boston Reaper, for which he received praise from critics. He frequently appears in major television series like SEAL Team and Ray Donovan. In the video game “Injustice 2,” the actor also provided the voice of Leonard Snart, also known as Captain Cold. In addition to his charitable work, Howell directed Lotus Crash’s “All the Same” music video, which tackled the issue of homelessness in the United States.
Early Life & Childhood of C Thomas Howell
On December 7, 1966, Christopher Thomas Howell was born in Van Nuys, California, USA. His parents are Chris N. Howell and Candice Howell. He has two sisters, Candi and Stacy, and a brother, John Howell.
Howell’s parents separated while he was a small child. Although his mother reared him most of the time, he also spent a lot of his early years with his father. His father, a professional bull rider who subsequently worked as a stunt supervisor, served as an inspiration to him.
Howell began performing at the tender age of four and used his father’s contacts to break into the entertainment world. In an episode of “The Brian Keith Show,” he made his television debut. In addition, he started riding bulls, and at the age of twelve, he took home the California Junior Rodeo Association championship.
His grandfather brought him golfing over a large portion of his early years. The initials of his real name there gave him the nickname “CT.” After completing his education at Saugus High School, Howell attended The National Conservatory for Drama Arts.
Career in Film of C Thomas Howell
In the Brian Keith Show episode “The Little People,” C. Thomas Howell made his stage debut. He debuted in the Steven Spielberg masterpiece “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” in 1982. The film was the year’s biggest blockbuster.
Unquestionably gifted, Howell quickly landed the role of Ponyboy Curtis in the coming-of-age film The Outsiders (1983). In addition to holding his own while starring with Tom Cruise, Diane Lane, and Patrick Swayze, he rose to fame as a teenage romantic.
C. Thomas Howell went on to star in some of his best films in 1984, such as “Red Dawn,” “Grandview, U.S.A.”, and “Tank.” Both reviewers and viewers complimented his performances.
He made an appearance in the film “Secret Admirer” in 1985. After the film garnered positive reviews, Howell was chosen to play Jim Halsey in the thriller “The Hitcher” the following year.
The year 1986 proved to be the beginning of the end for Howell’s ascent to fame. The film “Soul Man” was the obvious explanation. In order to receive a scholarship, he played a white student who used tanning tablets to make himself appear African-American. Everyone on the planet strongly objected to the racial tone.
Howell continued to be a star in several films even though he never realized the full potential of his ability. He starred in the films Young Toscanini and A Tiger’s Tale in 1988. He appeared in the film “The Return of the Musketeers” the following year.
Between 1990 and 1993, C. Thomas Howell acted in a few short films, such as “That Night,” “Side Out,” and “Breaking the Rules.” He portrayed Thomas Chamberlain in the 1993 American epic battle drama “Gettysburg,” which was his sole critically acclaimed feature film. The film was a commercial flop.
Howell made several films in the next years, but none of them were as successful as his first ones. A few modestly successful films include “Teresa’s Tattoo” (1994), “Payback,” and “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” (1995).
He took a risk in 1996 when he released the direct-to-video film “Pure Danger.” The two films he released in 1997 that were the most successful during that time were “Matter of Trust” and “Laws of Deception.”
Howell kept making appearances in films such as “Charades,” “The Crimson Code,” and “The Prince and the Surfer” between 1998 and 2000. Not one of the films was a big hit.
With the release of “The Million Dollar Kid” in 2000, Howell partially revived his film career. After receiving positive reviews for his performance, he kept appearing in films in 2001, including “Asylum Days” and “Asakari.”
He was chosen for roles in the 2003 motion pictures The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting and Gods and Generals. His ascent was capped off in 2004 with the biographical drama “Hidalgo.” With US$ 108.1 million in revenue, it became one of his first films in a long time to become a commercial smash.
He proceeded to carve out a satisfying career for himself in low-budget films. He became well-known in the business thanks to his dependable performances in the films The Hillside Strangler (2004), H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds (2005), The Da Vinci Treasure (2006), and Dead Letters (2007).
C. Thomas Howell had a historic year in 2008 as he went on to make two “mockbuster” films back-to-back: “The Day the Earth Stopped” and “War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave.” He acted in two further films, “Toxic” and “The Grind.”
He played supporting parts in popular films such as “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love” between 2009 and 2012.
Over the following few years, Howell kept up her acting career, lending her voice as Dr. Will Magnus in Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015) and appearing in lesser films such as Storm Rider (2013) and Confessions of a Womanizer (2014).
Howell and Woody Harrelson were cast in the 2016 biographical drama “LBJ,” which was based on President Lyndon B. Johnson. Despite the performers receiving widespread praise for their performances, the film was one of his worst commercial flops.
He starred in a number of indie films in 2017, including “The Shadow People,” “The Rack Pack,” and “Beast Mode.”
Career in Television In the 1983 episode “Relativity” of the television series “Two Marriages,” Thomas Howell landed his first significant role. He appeared in multiple episodes of “Nightmare Classics” (1989) and “Kindred: The Embraced” (1996) throughout the course of the following few years.
In addition, he starred in other TV films, including as “Sealed with a Kiss” (1998), “Suspect Device” (1995), and “Acting on Impulse” (1993).
Howell played Dr. Alex Kennedy in his first major recurring role on the television series “Amazon” (1999–2000). His popularity persisted on series like “24” (2006), “ER” (2005), and “Summerland” (2004–2005).
He played the recurring roles of Bill “Dewey” Dudek in the crime thriller “Southland” and the Boston Reaper in the television series “Criminal Minds” from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, Howell also had guest appearances on a number of popular TV shows, including Blue Bloods and Sons of Anarchy.
The actor appeared in several TV shows during the following few years, including “Grimm” (2014), “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce” (2014–2015), and “Stitchers” (2015–2017), all of which garnered a great deal of positive reception from viewers.
Howell has been a regular cast member of popular television programs like “Ray Donovan” and “SEAL Team” since 2017.
Large-scale Works of C Thomas Howell
It is thought that Howell’s performance in “The Outsiders” as Ponyboy Curtis was his best to date. He was awarded the 1984 Young Artist Award for “Best Young Motion Picture Actor in a Feature Film” for the performance.
Somewhat surprisingly, one of his greatest grossing films is “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Despite having a US$ 10.5 million budget, the film made over US$ 730 million in revenue.
Personal and Family Life C On July 11, 1989, Thomas Howell wed his co-star in “Soul Man,” Rae Dawn Chong. In 1990, they got divorced.
On July 25, 1992, he wed Sylvie Anderson. Together, they had three kids: Isabelle, Dashiell, and Liam. In 2015, Howell and Sylvie were divorced.
He was put on trial in 2000 for allegedly running into a skateboarder by mistake, but the matter was dropped.
He underwent treatment for an appendix rupture in 2003.
Net worth of C Thomas Howell
The estimated net worth of C Thomas Howell is about $5 million.