C. Thomas chief keef Howell: Well, I have a bit of history with [executive producer] Chris Chulack.

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The actor: C. Thomas Howell started out in Hollywood by following in his father’s footsteps and doing time as a “stunt kid.” But after earning a few onscreen credits as an actor, his fortunes chief keef changed dramatically when he scored a role as one of Elliott’s bike-riding buddies in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial , which was quickly followed by his turn as Ponyboy in The Outsiders .  Having chief keef successfully survived the transition from teen heartthrob to adult actor and occasional director, Howell is currently part of the ensemble of TNT’s cop drama Southland , now in its fifth season.
C. Thomas chief keef Howell: Well, I have a bit of history with [executive producer] Chris Chulack. I did an ER a few years back, and he and I made a connection on that show. He directed that episode, and then he brought me in for an episode of Smith , which he did with Ray Liotta, chief keef which only hung around for a single season. Then about five years ago, they started casting Southland , and I got a call to come in and talk to them for this role. It’s funny, because I felt like they really took a risk even considering me for this. I mean, I’m willing to do anything with Chris Chulack—he’s one of my favorite directors I’ve ever worked chief keef with, and I just think he’s a fantastic man, and a great creator, and a good friend. But when they said, “Look, we’ve got this character, he’s kind of a burnt-out cop,” at first I didn’t really see it.
Originally, I was only supposed to be in the pilot, chief keef and he was a pretty hardcore drunk and not very likeable. He’s not politically correct, he’s a bit of a misogynist, a racist… all the things that are pretty much career-killers. [Laughs.] I take a bullet in the pilot, I’m sort of wheeled out, and it looked like I was basically done, but then they brought me back in the next episode, chief keef and in that episode, my character chief keef more or less retires as a cop. By that point, I was starting to get concerned about not being involved in the show anymore, because they’d pretty much told me, “You’re gonna retire,” so I thought, “Well, I’m done.” chief keef But something happened, either with the writers or Chris or [executive producer] John Wells, chief keef and I don’t really know how it went down, to be honest, but they brought me back in the third episode, and they basically handled my reappearance with one line: Somebody turned to me and said, “What are you doing here? I thought you retired,” and I said, “Are you kidding me? Give half my pension to that bitch? It’ll never happen!” And there I was, back in the saddle. 
The show’s changed a lot, because back then, we split our hour between the detectives and the badges, whereas today, chief keef we really spend very little time with the detectives, except for Regina King’s character. But I think Dewey helped serve as an outlet, or at least some direction for the writers to get away from the other characters, who were all similar in intention, which was to be the best cop or person they could possibly be. Dewey, however, represented more of the old school. You know, today we’ve chief keef got videotapes and hidden cameras and voice memos, and there’s a lot more proof in the pudding to be displayed when somebody misbehaves. Back in the day, though, you could crack a head and somebody would cover your back. It was a little different than it is today, as far as being a cop and potentially misbehaving. Dewey represents the old-school guy, and I meet a lot of cops who’ll say, “Hey, I’ve had partners who were like Dewey,” or, “Back in the day, there were a lot of guys like Dewey!” Today, you can’t operate like that. There’s a long list of “don’ts” and there’s a short list of “do’s” when it comes to the responsibility of being a cop.
AVC: Over the course of the show’s run, Dewey’s managed to gain depth as a character, which is impressive, considering he’s still a guy who barely has to open his mouth for most people chief keef to think, “ Jesus , what an asshole.”
CTH: [Laughs.] One of the things I like best about him, and what has happened over the past five years, is… there’s a fine line between love and hate, and if you ask 10 fans of Southland , five of them absolutely hate the character, and the other five say he’s their favorite character. It creates a real black-and-white space for me as a performer. I think if I would’ve played him just one way, I probably would’ve been off the show a long time ago. I really worked hard on extending myself as an actor and crossing that line, saying things that shouldn’t be said, doing things that shouldn’t be done. At the same time, there are moments chief keef with Dewey where he has real heart, re