The Outsiders cast: See the actors over 40 years after the film made them mega-stars

C. Thomas Howell (Ponyboy Curtis)

With one minor part in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. (1982) under his belt, 15-year-old C. Thomas Howell won the lead role of The Outsiders. Howell’s character, Ponyboy Curtis, is the center of the story and one of the most heralded teenage characters in film. Ponyboy finds himself in the middle of a rivalry between his gang, the greasers, and the kids from the rich side of town, the Socs, that ends in violence and tragedy. Ponyboy is one of the few characters who yearns for a way out.

The breakthrough role has stuck with Howell throughout his career. “I see so many Stay Gold tattoos,” he told EW in 2021. “It's the most beautiful fan moment for me when I meet women who are in their 40s and I watch them turn into their 13-year-old selves when they talk about The Outsiders. It's still a very important part of my life.”

The up-and-coming actor maintained a steady workload in subsequent years. Coppola’s friend and collaborator John Milius hired Howell for Red Dawn (1984), reuniting him with his Outsiders big brother, Patrick Swayze. Not long afterward, he got terrorized by Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher (1986), which has become a cult classic. A starring role that aged less gracefully, however, was Soul Man (1986), which was panned for the blackface-centric premise, among other reasons.

The busy actor has a few other high-profile movies in his lengthy filmography — including Gettysburg (1993) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) — but in recent years has found a foothold in TV, with well-received roles as a serial killer on Criminal Minds (2009–2020) and an alcoholic cop in Southland (2009–2013). He recently appeared in a bit part on Taylor Sheridan’s 1923 (2025).

Howell and his wife, Brandi, have been married since 2023. He has three kids with his ex-wife, Sylvie Anderson.

Matt Dillon (Dallas “Dally” Winston)

By the time he took on the role of tragic figure Dallas Winston, Matt Dillon was already a teen heartthrob thanks to back-to-back hits Little Darlings (1980) and My Bodyguard (1980). As Dallas, Dillon was able to flex his acting muscles, giving life to the most hot-headed of the greasers — who, after suffering yet another loss, decides there’s no escape from his life of violence and finds his own way out: suicide-by-cop. It’s a startling conclusion to the film and a tricky part to pull off.

According to Hinton, she recommended Dillon for the role after working with him on the 1982 adaptation of her novel Tex. “I knew he would make a great Dallas,” she told US Weekly. “Francis decided he was perfect.”

After The Outsiders, Dillon immediately reunited with Coppola, Hinton, and Diane Lane for the director’s adaptation of Rumble Fish (1983), alongside Mickey Rourke. He won more acclaim for his lead role in Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy (1989), which helped him shed his teen idol status. In the ensuing years, he booked Cameron Crowe’s Singles (1992) and reunited with Van Sant in To Die For (1995) before showing off his comedy chops in There’s Something About Mary (1998) and his sleazy side in Wild Things (1998).

Dillon went on to earn his first Oscar nomination for his role as a racist cop in Crash (2004). He earned further praise — and revulsion — for Lars von Trier’s The House That Jack Built (2018) and recently appeared in a supporting role in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City (2023). He will next be seen in Claire Denis’ The Cry of the Guards.

Ralph Macchio (Johnny Cade)

As Johnny Cade, Ralph Macchio was the heart of The Outsiders — and the one who got to utter the film’s most famous line: “Stay gold, Ponyboy.” Johnny, like Ponyboy, sees the world differently than most greasers and desperately wishes for a way out. Unfortunately, when he saves Ponyboy by killing a Soc, he brings the rivalry to a boiling point.

The New York native was mostly unknown when he took on that pivotal character, but it changed his life, not just with what he learned from Coppola and his costars, but because of how the role shaped his career. “That one holds a special place,” he said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “It’s cool to be a greaser, it just is.”

It was The Outsiders that helped Macchio win the part of Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984). The film was a massive hit and made him a household name. He spent some time on Broadway, including working alongside Robert De Niro, before finding another role that immortalized him in pop culture: one of the wrongfully accused in My Cousin Vinny (1992), alongside Joe Pesci and an Oscar-winning Marisa Tomei.

In recent years, Macchio has enjoyed a career renaissance after reprising his Karate Kid role in the sequel series, Cobra Kai (2018–2025). The show saw him reteam with William Zabka, who played Daniel’s nemesis, Johnny Lawrence, in the original film. The series was a huge hit, recently ending its run after six seasons.

Macchio married Phyllis Fierro in 1987 and the couple have two children together.

Rob Lowe (Sodapop Curtis)

It was his role as Sodapop Curtis that put Rob Lowe on the map, launching him to A-list stardom as part of what was eventually dubbed the Brat Pack. As Sodapop, Ponyboy’s brother and greatest defender, Lowe offered up a sensitive, empathetic version of a greaser that helped him stand out among the ensemble.

His screen career really took off with the era-defining hits St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) and About Last Night (1986). He was at the height of his fame when a 1988 sex scandal derailed his career, but he bounced back with heel turns in comedies Wayne’s World (1992) and Tommy Boy (1995).

Since then, however, Lowe has become one of the most successful TV stars of recent generations. The actor landed a now-beloved role as Sam Seaborn in the political drama The West Wing (1999–2003), earning an Emmy nomination before departing after the fourth season. He found continued small-screen success in Brothers & Sisters (2006–2010), Parks and Recreation (2010–2015), and 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020–2025).

Lowe and his wife Sheryl Berkoff have been married since 1991 and have two sons. He and his son John Owen created, wrote, and starred in the Netflix comedy Unstable (2023–2024), which lasted two seasons. Lowe currently hosts the Fox game show The Floor and his popular podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe.

Emilio Estevez (Keith “Two-Bit” Mathews)

The Outsiders catapulted Emilio Estevez to fame en route to becoming the face of the Brat Pack. Estevez played Two-Bit, a greaser who often tries to steer Ponyboy away from trouble. 

Estevez went on to star in Repo Man (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and St. Elmo’s Fire (1985). In the latter, he shared the screen with Lowe as well as Demi Moore, to whom he was engaged for a brief period. The actor’s interest behind the camera led him to write the screenplay for another Hinton adaptation, That Was Then…This Is Now (1985), which he also starred in.

In addition to headlining roles in Stakeout (1987), Young Guns (1988), The Mighty Ducks (1992), and his shocking early exit in Mission: Impossible (1996), Estevez has pursued a desire to make his own films. He wrote and directed the comedy Men At Work (1990), casting himself alongside his brother Charlie Sheen as delinquent garbage men who get involved with a murder. He has helmed a handful of big-screen features since, including the star-studded Bobby (2006).

The veteran actor also appeared in a cameo as the younger version of his father Martin Sheen’s character on The West Wing (2003).

Estevez was married to pop star Paula Abdul for two years. He has two children from a relationship with model Carey Salley.

Patrick Swayze (Darrel “Darry” Curtis)

Darry was Ponyboy and Sodapop’s older brother, always doing his best to take care of them after their parents’ death. He was brought to life by Patrick Swayze, who at 31 was among the oldest members of the cast. Still, it was only his second film role at the time.

He followed that small but emotional part with a string of starring roles in hit films, including Red Dawn, Dirty Dancing (1987), Road House (1989), Ghost (1990), and Point Break (1991) alongside Keanu Reeves. Now that’s a string of movies, right there.

In later years, he took on opportunities that subverted his heartthrob and action star persona, including To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Donnie Darko (2002). Swayze also spent time on stage, starring in Chicago on Broadway in 2003 and Guys and Dolls on the West End in 2006. 

In 2008, Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At the time, he was filming the A&E series The Beast, starring as an FBI agent in Chicago. He shot the entire season while sick. It wound up being his final role. Swayze died 20 months after his diagnosis on September 14, 2009. He and his wife Lisa Niemi had been married for 34 years.

Diane Lane (Cherry Valance)

The Soc at the center of it all, Diane Lane’s Cherry Valance finds a kindred spirit in Ponyboy — which royally pisses off her boyfriend Tom and his cohort of sweater-wearing Socs. That’s the whole reason they go after Ponyboy and Johnny on that fateful night when everything goes wrong. Even in witnessing how ridiculous — and dangerous — the rivalry is, Cherry ultimately isn’t brave enough to make a change. She’s not even brave enough to acknowledge Ponyboy in public.

To make the character work, you need an actor with the perfect balance of charisma, naivete, and fortitude. Lane, who was just 17 at the time, had it. 

The actress was no stranger to film sets by that point, having made her debut at age 13 in A Little Romance (1979) with Laurence Olivier. She broke out largely on the strength of her collaborations with Coppola, including Rumble Fish and The Cotton Club (1984). After a few flops — including the now-cult fave Streets of Fire (1984) — she earned an Emmy nomination for the epic miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), based on Larry McMurtry’s classic novel and costarring Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, and Anjelica Huston.

After kicking off the turn of the century with the hit drama The Perfect Storm (2000), she earned her first Oscar nomination for the erotic thriller Unfaithful (2002). The star went on to find success with lighter fare as well, including the romantic dramedy Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) and rom-com Must Love Dogs (2005).

Lane later spent time back on stage, including starring roles in a Chicago production of Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth and Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. Back on the big screen, however, the veteran actress played none other than Superman’s mom in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) and later won accolades for her performance as socialite Slim Keith in Ryan Murphy’s anthology series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024).

Lane has one daughter with ex-husband Christopher Lambert. She was also married to Josh Brolin from 2004 to 2013.

Tom Cruise (Steve Randle)

It’s honestly a bit of a shock to the system when Tom Cruise pops up as greaser Steve Randle, who works with Sodapop Curtis at the gas station and a friend to Ponyboy.

It’s a small role, something we’ve rarely seen from Cruise since. Cruise was just 19 during filming and still very much a newcomer by the March 1983 premiere. That all changed quickly. By August, Risky Business (1983) was in theaters, and Cruise’s pink shirt, undies, and sunglasses were immortalized in pop culture forever. Within three years, Top Gun (1986) was out and… well, there was really no turning back after that.

Since then, he's consistently been one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He made a point to balance blockbusters with challenging dramatic parts, including Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money (1986), the Best Picture-winning Rain Man (1988), and anti-war drama Born on the Fourth of July (1989), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He earned subsequent Oscar nods for his performances as an idealistic sports agent in Jerry Maguire (1996) and as a misogynistic sex guru in Magnolia (1999).

In between Mission: Impossible films, he and then-wife Nicole Kidman spent two years in England making Stanley Kubrick’s controversial swan song, Eyes Wide Shut (1999). He teamed up with Spielberg for Minority Report (2002) and War of the Worlds (2005), made a sociopathic heel turn in Collateral (2004), and stole scenes in unrecognizable form in Tropic Thunder (2008). 

The man never stops. The Mission: Impossible franchise is on the verge of its eighth installment, and on the heels of the pandemic, he reignited Top Gun fever with the sequel Top Gun: Maverick (2022), which became one of the highest-grossing films of all time.

In addition to Kidman, with whom he shares two children, Cruise was previously married to Mimi Rogers and Katie Holmes. He and Holmes have one daughter together.

Leif Garrett (Bob Sheldon)

Leif Garrett originally had another role in mind. “I really wanted to be Ponyboy, because that’s the role,” he told EW in 2021. “I wasn’t right for it. I’m not that greasy. I was a cocky teen idol at the time.”

Indeed, Garrett proved a better fit for Bob Sheldon, the Soc who picks a fight with Ponyboy and Johnny after seeing them with girlfriend, Cherry. It’s a choice Bob ends up regretting; in the ensuing melee, he winds up dead. Garrett’s not in the film for long, but his condescending character certainly makes an impact.

At that point, the kid was already established as a rising talent, from an early appearance in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) to the TV series Three for the Road (1975), which turned him into a mainstay in teen magazines. He was a recording star as well; by 1976, he had a five-record deal.

Personal and legal issues, however, derailed his promising career. Contemporary audiences may know him best from his reality TV appearances, including Fear Factor (2006) and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (2010–2011).

To this day, Garrett counts The Outsiders as one of his best accomplishments. “There are two things that I’m very proud of in my life. One is being inducted into the cowboy hall of fame for a movie-of-the-week I did,” he said. “The other is The Outsiders.”