The Walking Dead’s C. Thomas Howell classic The Outsiders on MAX

The Walking Dead recently said goodbye to Roy, who C. Thomas Howell played. This character was first seen in season seven’s episode “Stradivarius.” Howell has had a long career, and one of his best-known characters appeared in the 1983 movie, The Outsiders.

Roy reappeared in season 11 of The Walking Dead; he was a resident of Hilltop until that community was destroyed and then moved to Alexandria. He was part of the group that headed to Meridian to retrieve food there to feed the growing community of Alexandria that had been severely damaged in the Whisperer war.

Sadly, Roy was ultimately killed by the Reapers via an arrow to the head.

C. Thomas Howell The Outsiders

The Outsiders is a Francis Ford Coppola movie that was released in 1983 that was adapted from the novel written by S.E. Hinton. This film featured many up-and-coming stars who would all go on to great careers. C. Thomas Howell found his second role in this film, where he played Ponyboy Curtis. The film also stars Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise and Leif Garrett.

In 2005 Coppola re-released the film with 22 additional minutes and new music. It was titled The Outsiders: The Outsiders: The Complete Novel, and the additional scenes helped keep the movie more true the novel it was based on.

On November 16, MAX released a 4K restoration of The Outsiders, which is great for the nostalgic 80s teens who loved this film and the new generations introduced to it.

Entertainment Weekly interviewed Coppola, and some of the cast with the release of the 4k version is an inside look at what went into creating this classic film.

Coppola shared how the movie came about. A librarian/teacher and her class reached out to him, stating they felt he needed to direct a film version of the novel they all loved so much. Thank goodness they put this idea into his head.

Howell and the other cast member shared memories of auditioning and life on and off the set. The scene where Johnny and Ponyboy cut each other’s hair with a knife really happened. It is an outstanding interview that features most of the cast members, Coppola and Hinton. Be sure to check it out.

"There’s another beautiful moment when we’re in the church and we’re hiding for the first time. On the second or third take, they’re pushing a dolly across this decrepit church and the grip falls through the floor and makes a noise. I turn and stare right at him. And in that moment, I turned back to Johnny and [said], “Are you awake? I think there’s a monster outside,” because I don’t know how to ad-lib. I’m 14! And [Johnny] goes, “It’s okay,” and puts my coat around me or something. Well, Coppola uses that take and cuts to a little raccoon that’s breaking off a piece of wood at the church. That’s what I learned from Francis at a young age — to hunt for those accidents. Francis took me aside and said “never break, no matter what happens.” It was the greatest acting lesson I ever received ever in my life, to this day. He said, “I don’t care if a herd of buffalo is running through the middle of the set. When I’m working with Marlon Brando, he would just turn and say, ‘look at the pretty buffalo’ and continue with his dialogue.” – C. Thomas Howell, interview with Entertainment Weekly"

Other memorable roles for Howell include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was his first acting role. He has also starred in Red Dawn, The Hitcher, Tank, Secret Admirer and many more. His TV roles include Kindred: The Embraced, Amazon, Southland, Stitchers, Animal Kingdom, SEAL Team and Creepshow. 

He will have upcoming roles in Crimson Point, Mama’s Eggnog and The Express. 

Be sure to check out Howell’s Instagram page for all of his updates and keep tabs on where he will be performing his music next.