Photo: Peabody Awards / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
C. Thomas Howell is one of those actors who defined what it felt like to be young and restless in the early 1980s, and I genuinely think he doesn't get enough credit for it. He was already rubbing shoulders with Spielberg as a teenager in E.T., then turned around and anchored Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis — one of the most iconic teen roles of the decade. Red Dawn the same year just cemented his status as the go-to face for a generation of coming-of-age cinema. He never quite made the full leap to A-list stardom the way some of his Outsiders castmates did, but he kept working steadily as an actor, director, and producer, carving out a respectable career on his own terms. There's something genuinely admirable about that kind of longevity without the Hollywood machine propping you up.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- C. Thomas Howell
- Name (Japanese)
- C・トーマス・ハウエル
- Reading
- C・とーます・はうえる
- Born
- December 7, 1966 (age 59)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Horse
- Origin
- Van Nuys, California, United States
- Occupation
- film director / screenwriter / film producer / film actor / actor
2. Background
- High school
- Saugus High School
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | — | |
| Notable work | The Outsiders | — | |
| Notable work | Red Dawn | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was C. Thomas Howell born?
Born December 7, 1966 (age 59).
Where is C. Thomas Howell from?
C. Thomas Howell is from Van Nuys, California, United States.
What does C. Thomas Howell do?
C. Thomas Howell works as film director, screenwriter, film producer, film actor, actor.
What is C. Thomas Howell known for?
Notable works include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Outsiders, Red Dawn.
Film director — see all → · Screenwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.