During a recent interview with the Current, Howell, 57, who is best known for his roles in The Outsiders, E.T. the Extraterrestrial and Red Dawn, talked about his rodeo background, standing up for authenticity in the film and how old-school cowboys are different than those from today’s generation. He currently resides in the East Texas city of Nacogdoches.
Ride premieres at select theaters and on VOD on Friday, June 14.
I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, but I’ve never been able to pull off a cowboy hat. How do you do it so well?
(Laughs.) Not very many people can, I tell you. It's a funny thing. Of course, they've changed over the years. They're so different than when I was a kid. We got those wide brims up front. They always look like they're on backwards. To me, cowboy boots are now squared off in the front. We used to have pointed toes or rounded-toe boots. The cowboy attire has changed tremendously. There's nothing wrong with wearing a ball cap.
I didn’t know you had a rodeo background until recently. Was it easy to jump back into that lifestyle for the film?
Yeah, my father rode bulls for 10 years for a living. I grew up in Junior Rodeo and wanted to become a professional cowboy myself. So, to be honest with you, it put a lot of pressure on me accepting this role because the last thing I wanted to do was to turn in something that wasn't authentic. In general, Hollywood, frankly, doesn't really know the difference.
Will cowboys know the difference?
Let me tell you, cowboys will walk away fast from something that isn't authentic. I mean, if you're from a rural background and are a rodeo cowboy, when you're watching Westerns or watching cowboy movies, you can instantly see who can ride and who can't ride; who's wearing their hat right, and who's got their spurs on wrong. It becomes very cringy.
How did you make sure that didn’t happen in this film?
From a cowboy standpoint, I stood up and said, “I wouldn't wear that” or “That's not legit” or “That's not how you do something.” Some people, at certain times, struggled with that. But [writer/director/star] Jake Allyn really embraced it and stood his ground when it came to plot points and letting us know what was important to him. So, there were moments when we, sort of, cowboy clashed. But that came from a loving space, not a place of ego. Everybody wanted to make the best movie they possibly could.
Although Ride is set in Stephenville, you shot the film in Tennessee and Kentucky because of film incentives. Did you spend any time in Texas when you were rodeoing?
I rodeoed all throughout Texas, from West Texas to East Texas. I currently live in East Texas now, in Nacogdoches. There are great cowboys all throughout Texas. When I was a youngster, I was tagging on [my father’s] heels, so Texas was a big part of my life. I have a lot of great friends from Texas. I think it's a great state. That's why I chose to live there. There's nothing like going to a rodeo.
What’s the difference about the old-school cowboy way of life and cowboys in the 21st century?
The only difference is that now everybody has a phone holster on the side of their saddle. We didn't have that growing up. We used to have to go out and work hard, but that still exists in rodeo. You know, as we say in the film, the answer is in the dirt. There's a lot of truth to that. Nothing beats hard work, sweat and tears.
To be a good cowboy, do you have to have a good horse?
There's nothing like a relationship with a horse. Horses don't care if you won the lottery or if you're dead broke. They can sense your heartbeat from four feet away. I mean, they can feel a fly on their back, so imagine climbing up on one. They feel your fear. They feel your love. They feel your courage. There's something about riding a horse that is quick to reflect ourselves.
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