C. Thomas Howell

After an eye-catching performance in the teen coming-of-age epic Vidas sem Rumo (1983), ex-child rodeo star C. Thomas Howell was one a promising young actor in the mid-1980s. Christopher Thomas Howell was born in Los Angeles to Candice (Webb) and Chris Howell (a professional bull rider turned stuntman). He started working in the film industry at the age of seven. In 1981, he was cast as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's E.T.: O Extraterrestre (1982). Shortly thereafter, he nabbed the lead in Francis Ford Coppola's classic Vidas sem Rumo (1983). Earmarked as an up-and-coming actor, his career soon skyrocketed with roles in films including the comedy A Volta por Cima (1984), alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, and the violent Cold War invasion drama Amanhecer Violento (1984). His career was not helped by the controversial racial comedy Uma Escola Muito Louca (1986), which was not well-received. However, he did meet and fall in love with his co-star from that movie, Rae Dawn Chong, whom he later married. He has notched up in excess of 90 feature film appearances. including starring roles in Os Reis da Praia (1990), Anjos Assassinos (1993), Baby Face Nelson (1996), Fatal Affair (1998), Casa do Medo (2001) and Estrada para o Inferno (2006). He played unpredictable Officer Bill "Dewey" Dudek in the TNT drama series Southland: Cidade do Crime (2009) and as the sadistic serial killer "The Reaper" on CBS's Mentes Criminosas (2005). More recent television appearances include Destino Final: Palm Glade (2010) (A&E) and Torchwood (2006) (Starz Channel). He appeared in O Espetacular Homem-Aranha (2012) (Sony). A budding film director, he has directed a number of films, including Um Salto para o Perigo (1997), Risco Absoluto (1996), The Land That Time Forgot (2009), and The Day the Earth Stopped (2008). Outside his acting career, Howell is an accomplished team roper.