“The Outsiders ”solid: See the actors over 40 years after the movie made them mega-stars

On March 25, 1983, Francis Ford Coppola’s extremely anticipated adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s beloved 1967 coming-of-age novel The Outsiders hit theaters. It was a take a look at adolescence hardly ever seen on display screen on the time, highlighting a narrative of youth trapped in cycles of poverty and violence.

It additionally occurred to launch a lot of its younger solid to stardom. The actors who made up the rival Tulsa gangs — the greasers and the a lot wealthier Socs — would quickly get outlined because the Brat Pack, get into some soiled dancing, and change into Hollywood’s high (younger) weapons. Practically everybody Coppola solid was simply beginning out however would go on to have lengthy, profitable careers.

From right this moment’s perspective, it is a star-studded solid, and the movie itself stays a touchstone. Let’s test in with the solid of The Outsiders and see what they’ve been as much as since rumbling within the Oklahoma rain.

01 of 09

C. Thomas Howell (Ponyboy Curtis)

With one minor half in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. (1982) beneath his belt, 15-year-old C. Thomas Howell won the lead role of The Outsiders. Howell’s character, Ponyboy Curtis, is the middle of the story and one of the vital heralded teenage characters in movie. Ponyboy finds himself in the midst of a rivalry between his gang, the greasers, and the youngsters from the wealthy aspect of city, the Socs, that ends in violence and tragedy. Ponyboy is among the few characters who yearns for a means out.

The breakthrough position has caught with Howell all through his profession. “I see so many Keep Gold tattoos,” he instructed EW in 2021. “It's probably the most lovely fan second for me once I meet girls who’re of their 40s and I watch them flip into their 13-year-old selves after they discuss The Outsiders. It's nonetheless a vital a part of my life.”

The up-and-coming actor maintained a gentle workload in subsequent years. Coppola’s buddy and collaborator John Milius employed Howell for Purple Daybreak (1984), reuniting him together with his Outsiders huge brother, Patrick Swayze. Not lengthy afterward, he received terrorized by Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher (1986), which has change into a cult basic. A starring position that aged much less gracefully, nevertheless, was Soul Man (1986), which was panned for the blackface-centric premise, amongst different causes.

The busy actor has a number of different high-profile films in his prolonged filmography — together with Gettysburg (1993) and The Superb Spider-Man (2012) — however lately has discovered 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 just lately appeared in a bit half on Taylor Sheridan’s 1923 (2025).

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

02 of 09

Matt Dillon (Dallas “Dally” Winston)

By the point he took on the position of tragic determine Dallas Winston, Matt Dillon was already a teen heartthrob due to back-to-back hits Little Darlings (1980) and My Bodyguard (1980). As Dallas, Dillon was capable of flex his performing muscular tissues, giving life to probably the most hot-headed of the greasers — who, after struggling yet one more loss, decides there’s no escape from his lifetime of violence and finds his personal means out: suicide-by-cop. It’s a startling conclusion to the movie and a difficult half to drag off.

Based on Hinton, she advisable Dillon for the position after working with him on the 1982 adaptation of her novel Tex. “I knew he would make an excellent Dallas,” she told US Weekly. “Francis determined he was good.”

After The Outsiders, Dillon instantly reunited with Coppola, Hinton, and Diane Lane for the director’s adaptation of Rumble Fish (1983), alongside Mickey Rourke. He received extra popularity of his lead position in Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy (1989), which helped him shed his teen idol standing. Within the ensuing years, he booked Cameron Crowe’s Singles (1992) and reunited with Van Sant in To Die For (1995) earlier than displaying off his comedy chops in There’s Something About Mary (1998) and his sleazy aspect in Wild Issues (1998).

Dillon went on to earn his first Oscar nomination for his position as a racist cop in Crash (2004). He earned additional reward — and revulsion — for Lars von Trier’s The Home That Jack Constructed (2018) and just lately appeared in a supporting position in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid Metropolis (2023). He’ll subsequent be seen in Claire Denis’ The Cry of the Guards.

03 of 09

Ralph Macchio (Johnny Cade)

As Johnny Cade, Ralph Macchio was the center of The Outsiders — and the one who received to utter the movie’s most well-known line: “Keep gold, Ponyboy.” Johnny, like Ponyboy, sees the world in a different way than most greasers and desperately needs for a means out. Sadly, when he saves Ponyboy by killing a Soc, he brings the rivalry to a boiling level.

The New York native was principally unknown when he took on that pivotal character, however it modified his life, not simply with what he discovered from Coppola and his costars, however due to how the position formed his profession. “That one holds a particular place,” he stated on The Drew Barrymore Show. “It’s cool to be a greaser, it simply is.”

It was The Outsiders that helped Macchio win the a part of Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984). The movie was an enormous hit and made him a family identify. He spent a while on Broadway, together with working alongside Robert De Niro, earlier than discovering one other position that immortalized him in popular culture: one of many wrongfully accused in My Cousin Vinny (1992), alongside Joe Pesci and an Oscar-winning Marisa Tomei.

Lately, Macchio has loved a profession renaissance after reprising his Karate Child position within the sequel sequence, Cobra Kai (2018–2025). The present noticed him reteam with William Zabka, who performed Daniel’s nemesis, Johnny Lawrence, within the authentic movie. The sequence was an enormous hit, just lately ending its run after six seasons.

Macchio married Phyllis Fierro in 1987 and the couple have two kids collectively.

04 of 09

Rob Lowe (Sodapop Curtis)

It was his position as Sodapop Curtisthat put Rob Lowe on the map, launching him to A-list stardom as a part of what was ultimately dubbed the Brat Pack. As Sodapop, Ponyboy’s brother and biggest defender, Lowe supplied up a delicate, empathetic model of a greaser that helped him stand out among the many ensemble.

His display screen profession actually took off with the era-defining hits St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) and About Final Night time (1986). He was on the top of his fame when a 1988 intercourse scandal derailed his profession, however he bounced again with heel turns in comedies Wayne’s World (1992) and Tommy Boy (1995).

Since then, nevertheless, Lowe has change into one of the vital profitable TV stars of current generations. The actor landed a now-beloved position as Sam Seaborn within the political drama The West Wing (1999–2003), incomes an Emmy nomination earlier than departing after the fourth season. He discovered 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 spouse Sheryl Berkoff have been married since 1991 and have two sons. He and his son John Owen created, wrote, and starred within the Netflix comedy Unstable (2023–2024), which lasted two seasons. Lowe presently hosts the Fox sport present The Flooring and his well-liked podcast Actually! With Rob Lowe.

05 of 09

Emilio Estevez (Keith “Two-Bit” Mathews)

The Outsiders catapulted Emilio Estevez to fame en path to turning into the face of the Brat Pack. Estevez performed Two-Bit, a greaser who typically tries to steer Ponyboy away from hassle.

Estevez went on to star in Repo Man (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and St. Elmo’s Fire (1985). Within the latter, he shared the display screen with Lowe in addition to Demi Moore, to whom he was engaged for a short interval. The actor’s curiosity behind the digital camera led him to jot down the screenplay for an additional Hinton adaptation, That Was Then…This Is Now (1985), which he additionally starred in.

Along with headlining roles in Stakeout (1987), Younger Weapons (1988), The Mighty Geese (1992), and his surprising early exit in Mission: Unattainable (1996), Estevez has pursued a need to make his personal movies. He wrote and directed the comedy Males At Work (1990), casting himself alongside his brother Charlie Sheen as delinquent rubbish males who get entangled with a homicide. He has helmed a handful of big-screen options since, together with the star-studded Bobby (2006).

The veteran actor additionally appeared in a cameo because the youthful model of his father Martin Sheen’s character on The West Wing (2003).

Estevez was married to pop star Paula Abdul for 2 years. He has two kids from a relationship with mannequin Carey Salley.

06 of 09

Patrick Swayze (Darrel “Darry” Curtis)

Darry was Ponyboy and Sodapop’s older brother, all the time doing his greatest to handle them after their dad and mom’ loss of life. He was delivered to life by Patrick Swayze, who at 31 was among the many oldest members of the solid. Nonetheless, it was solely his second movie position on the time.

He adopted that small however emotional half with a string of starring roles in hit movies, together with Purple Daybreak, Dirty Dancing (1987), Street Home (1989), Ghost (1990), and Level Break (1991) alongside Keanu Reeves. Now that’s a string of flicks, proper there.

In later years, he took on alternatives that subverted his heartthrob and motion star persona, together with To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Donnie Darko (2002). Swayze additionally frolicked on stage, starring in Chicago on Broadway in 2003 and Guys and Dolls on the West Finish in 2006.

In 2008, Swayze was identified with pancreatic most cancers. On the time, he was filming the A&E sequence The Beast, starring as an FBI agent in Chicago. He shot all the season whereas sick. It wound up being his last position. Swayze died 20 months after his analysis on September 14, 2009. He and his spouse Lisa Niemi had been married for 34 years.

07 of 09

Diane Lane (Cherry Valance)

The Soc on the heart of all of it, 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 entire cause they go after Ponyboy and Johnny on that fateful night time when every thing goes improper. Even in witnessing how ridiculous — and harmful — the rivalry is, Cherry finally isn’t courageous sufficient to make a change. She’s not even courageous sufficient to acknowledge Ponyboy in public.

To make the character work, you want an actor with the proper stability of charisma, naivete, and fortitude. Lane, who was simply 17 on the time, had it.

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

After kicking off the flip of the century with the hit drama The Good Storm (2000), she earned her first Oscar nomination for the erotic thriller Untrue (2002). The star went on to seek out success with lighter fare as effectively, together with the romantic dramedy Underneath the Tuscan Solar (2003) and rom-com Should Love Canines (2005).

Lane later frolicked again on stage, together with starring roles in a Chicago manufacturing of Tennessee Williams’ Candy Fowl of Youth and Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. Again on the large display screen, nevertheless, the veteran actress performed none aside from Superman’s mother in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) and later received accolades for her efficiency as socialite Slim Keith in Ryan Murphy’s anthology sequence Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024).

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

08 of 09

Tom Cruise (Steve Randle)

It’s actually a little bit of a shock to the system when Tom Cruise pops up as greaser Steve Randle, who works with Sodapop Curtis on the fuel station and a buddy to Ponyboy.

It’s a small position, one thing we’ve hardly ever seen from Cruise since. Cruise was simply 19 throughout filming and nonetheless very a lot a newcomer by the March 1983 premiere. That each one modified rapidly. By August, Dangerous Enterprise (1983) was in theaters, and Cruise’s pink shirt, lingerie, and sun shades have been immortalized in popular culture eternally. Inside three years, Top Gun (1986) was out and… effectively, there was actually no turning again after that.

Since then, he's persistently been one of many greatest film stars on the earth. He made some extent to stability blockbusters with difficult dramatic components, together with Martin Scorsese’s The Coloration of Cash (1986), the Finest Image-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 activities agent in Jerry Maguire (1996) and as a misogynistic intercourse guru in Magnolia (1999).

In between Mission: Unattainable movies, he and then-wife Nicole Kidman spent two years in England making Stanley Kubrick’s controversial swan tune, Eyes Large Shut (1999). He teamed up with Spielberg for Minority Report (2002) and Conflict of the Worlds (2005), made a sociopathic heel flip in Collateral (2004), and stole scenes in unrecognizable type in Tropic Thunder (2008).

The person by no means stops. The Mission: Unattainable franchise is on the verge of its eighth installment, and on the heels of the pandemic, he reignited Prime Gun fever with the sequel Prime Gun: Maverick (2022), which turned one of many highest-grossing movies of all time.

Along with Kidman, with whom he shares two kids, Cruise was beforehand married to Mimi Rogers and Katie Holmes. He and Holmes have one daughter collectively.

09 of 09

Leif Garrett (Bob Sheldon)

Leif Garrett initially had one other position in thoughts. “I actually needed to be Ponyboy, as a result of that’s the position,” he instructed EW in 2021. “I wasn’t proper for it. I’m not that greasy. I used to be a cocky teen idol on the time.”

Certainly, Garrett proved a greater match for Bob Sheldon, the Soc who picks a battle with Ponyboy and Johnny after seeing them with girlfriend, Cherry. It’s a selection Bob finally ends up regretting; within the ensuing melee, he winds up lifeless. Garrett’s not within the movie for lengthy, however his condescending character actually makes an affect.

At that time, the child was already established as a rising expertise, from an early look in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) to the TV sequence Three for the Street (1975), which turned him right into a mainstay in teen magazines. He was a recording star as effectively; by 1976, he had a five-record deal.

Private and authorized points, nevertheless, derailed his promising profession. Up to date audiences might know him greatest from his actuality TV appearances, together with Fear Factor (2006) and Superstar Rehab with Dr. Drew (2010–2011).

To today, Garrett counts The Outsiders as certainly one of his greatest accomplishments. “There are two issues that I’m very pleased with in my life. One is being inducted into the cowboy corridor of fame for a movie-of-the-week I did,” he stated. “The opposite is The Outsiders.”

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