Age: 59
male
Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966), usually credited as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stopped and Gods and Generals. Howell was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Christopher N. and Candice Howell. He has three siblings. 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 young boy, 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. In 1982, Howell made his film debut as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. At the age of 15 in 1981, 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. He later expressed disappointment in the series. 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. He also starred in the sequel, which was released in 2003. In 1986, Howell starred in Soul Man, a film in which Howell appears in Blackface. Rounding out the 1980s , Howell played the young Arturo Toscanini in Franco Zeffirelli's 1988 film Young Toscanini.
In the world of Pokémon, boys and girls at the age of 10 can get their official license to become Pokémon trainers, and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is about to receive his very first Pokémon from Professor Oak. On the morning of the day that he is supposed to get his first Pokémon, it is revealed that Ash has accidentally broken his alarm clock and oversleeps. When he wakes up, he runs in his pajamas to Professor Oak's laboratory where Ash runs into his rival and the Professor's grandson, Gary Oak. Gary proceeds to taunt Ash for arriving to the ceremony late and brags about having already received his first Pokémon. When Ash enters Professor Oak's lab to receive his Pokémon, he is told that all three starter Pokémon have already been taken. Ash pleads for any Pokémon and Oak replies that he still has one left. Ash does not care and receives the Pokémon, which turns out to be the electric-type Pokémon Pikachu. Ash thinks that it is cute, but it gives him an electric shock when he picks it up to hug it. Oak gives Ash a Pokédex and six Poké Balls before he heads out on his journey to become the greatest Pokémon trainer of all time. Ash soon comes to realize that the Pikachu refuses to go inside his Poké Ball and prefers his independence. As Ash carries the reluctant Pikachu, he hopes that they can be friends, but Pikachu acts aloof and openly shows his distrust of Ash. Just then, the two stumble upon a Pidgey in the wild and Ash unsuccessfully tries to catch it by throwing a Poké Ball. Ash uses his Pokédex and finds out that in order to catch a Pokémon, a trainer must first use their Pokémon to battle it, thereby weakening it, to be caught by a Poké Ball. With Pikachu being uncooperative, Ash tries to fight the Pidgey himself, but is easily beaten, which greatly amuses Pikachu. The Pidgey escapes and Ash finds a Rattata rummaging through his pack. He chases the Pokémon off as he hears cooing behind him. He turns to see several Pidgey gathered in the tall grass. Frustrated, Ash throws a rock at what he believes is the Pidgey. However, it turns out to be a Spearow, which starts attacking Pikachu and Ash. Pikachu shocks Spearow, and in the process alerts a whole flock. The angered Spearow flock gives chase and eventually catches up and attacks Pikachu. Ash quickly grabs Pikachu and dives down a waterfall in order to escape from the flock of Spearow, and the two are fished out down river by a young girl named Misty, who tells Ash to take the injured Pikachu to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. Seeing the Spearow flock approaching, Ash escapes with Pikachu taking Misty's bike. Ash pedals furiously toward Viridian City. Ash loses control of the bike and wipes out, crashing down a hill. Realizing Pikachu's condition is critical, Ash pleads him to go inside his Poké Ball so that Ash can protect him from the approaching Spearow. Pikachu, after seeing how much Ash cares for it, performs a powerful Thunder attack which drives the Spearow away, but also destroys Misty's bike. As the rain-clouds part, a mysterious golden bird flies over a rainbow and Ash's Pokédex informs him that there is no current data on this Pokémon and that there are several yet to be identified. Ash carries Pikachu into Viridian City, and Pikachu licks Ash's cheek.
