Rarely-Seen ’80s Heartthrob Is Still ‘Gold’ in Recent Broadway Appearance originally appeared on Parade.
As the troubled greaser Ponyboy in Francis Ford Coppola‘s classic coming-of-age film, The Outsiders, there’s no question that C. Thomas Howell played one of the most iconic characters in cinema history. That’s why fans are still inspired to quote the movie whenever they see the star (“Stay gold, Ponyboy”) — and it’s also why the internet freaked out when Howell stopped by The Outsiders on Broadway.
Howell, 58, took to TikTok this week to share a clip of himself alongside his Outsiders co-star, Darren Dalton (who played Randy in the movie), standing outside the Jacobs Theatre in NYC where the Tony Award-winning production is currently playing.
After telling his followers that he and Dalton were attending the play that night, Howell went on to announce a special screening of The Outsiders coming up in September with fellow cast member Leif Garrett and other surprise guests.
“Guess what? September 13, it’s coming full circle. We’re going to visit Fresno, California, where it all began,” he said, as Dalton smiled and nodded.
Fans were thrilled to see Howell back in action.
“Bro how are people just casually walking past PONYBOY,” one person wanted to know, with another demanding, “How are people walking by and not saying anything?!”
“Epiccccc, stay gold Ponyboy,” a third commenter declared.
“Omg I had such a crush on you,” another fan admitted, as someone else raved, “Love a good full circle moment.”
In an interview with Movieweb last year, Howell opened up about what it was like filming The Outsiders as a teenager, revealing that he didn’t know enough to be intimidated by his legendary director.
“Francis was, of course, our director, but he was more a psychologist and father figure than he was really this imposing director,” Howell recalled.
“I was all of 15, so I didn’t carry any baggage when it came to who he was,” he continued. “I hadn’t seen The Godfather. I didn’t know what Apocalypse Now was. I was a kid from a ranch, and I’d seen a few movies, but these films weren’t being played on TV, and I certainly didn’t have access to them on my phone like all the kids have now. So I treated these men just as I would treat anybody else.”
Related: Rare Sighting of ’80s TV Icon, 65, Has Fans Saying the Same Thing
Rarely-Seen ’80s Heartthrob Is Still ‘Gold’ in Recent Broadway Appearance first appeared on Parade on Jun 12, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
