DIRECTOR Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders,” shown in cinemas in 1983, was an adaptation of S.E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton’s well-loved coming-of-age novel set in Oklahoma, that came out in 1967.

Entertainment Weekly described “The Outsiders” as a “look at adolescence, rarely seen onscreen and highlighting a story of youth trapped in cycles of poverty and violence.”

Now on its 58th year, “The Outsiders” is a memorable film that launched the careers of many of its young cast to stardom. The actors respectively made names for themselves after their memorable stint in Coppola’s film.

Many in the star-studded cast of “The Outsiders” were just starting out in 1983, when the film was released in theaters, but charted very successful careers on the silver screen after rumbling in the Oklahoma streets.

They made up the Tulsa gang – the greasers constantly battling the wealthy Socs – that eventually got defined as the Brat Pack and Hollywood’s top young guns.

Rob Lowe played Sodapop Curtis, the role that put him on the acting map to stardom and eventually put him on the A-list roster.

As Sodapop, Ponyboy’s brother and staunchest defender, Rob offered a sensitive, emphatic version of a greaser that helped him stand out among the male ensemble.

Entertainment Weekly described Rob as “one of the most successful TV stars of his generation.”

He landed a well-beloved role as Sam Seaborn in the political drama, “The West Wing” (1999 to 2003) and even notched an Emmy nomination before eventually ending his portrayal in the fourth season. He continued acting on TV until in the recent “9-1-1 Lone Star” (2000-2025).

Rob and his wife Sheryl Berkoff have been happily married since 1991 and have two sons. He and his son, John Owen, created, wrote and starred in the Netflix comedy, “Unstable.”

Rob presently hosts the Fox game show, “The Floor” and his popular podcast, “Literally With Rob Lowe.”

Emilio Estevez played Keith “Two-Bit” Matthews, a role that catapulted the actor to fame. Also a greaser, he often tried to steer Ponyboy away from trouble.

Emilio went on to star in many films where he played an assortment of roles – “Repo Man” (1984), “The Breakfast Club” (1985), “St. Elmo’s Fire” (1985), where he shared the screen with Rob.

Emilio’s interest behind the camera led him to write the screenplay for another Hinton adaptation, “That Was Then, This Is Now,” where he also starred in 1985.

The actor essayed other roles in “Stakeout” (1987), “Young Guns” (1988), “The Mighty Ducks” (1992) and even “Mission Impossible” (1996).

Moreover, Emilio worked at the helm of other films like the comedy “Men at Work” (1990), where he starred with brother Charlie Sheen and the star-studded ‘Bobby” (2006).

The veteran actor appeared in a cameo as a younger version of his father, Martin Sheen, on “The West Wing” (2003).

Emilio has two children from a relationship with model Carey Sulley and was also previously married to singer Paula Abdul.

Patrick Swayze played Darrel “Darry” Curtis, Ponyboy and Sodapop’s older brother who was always doing his best to take care of them after their parents’ death.

Then 31 when he portrayed the role, Patrick was the oldest member of “The Outsiders” cast at that time when he did only the second role in his acting career.

That small but emotional part was followed with a string of memorable starring roles in blockbuster films – “Red Dawn” and “Dirty Dancing” (1987), “Road House” (1989), “Ghost” (1990) with Demi Moore, “Point Break” (1991) with Keanu Reeves.

In succeeding years, Patrick played out of the box roles that digressed from his action star and heartthrob persona – “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar” (1995), “Donnie Darko” (2002) then later ventured onstage in Broadway.

Patrick passed on in 2009 after playing his final role as an FBI agent in Chicago in the action series, “The Beast.”

Ralph Macchio was Johnny Cade, the heart of “The Outsiders” and the character who uttered the famous line, “Stay gold, Ponyboy.”

Like Ponyboy, Johnny sees the world differently than most greasers and desperately wishes for a way out.

However, when he saved Ponyboy by killing a Soc, he brought the rivalry to a boiling point.

Ralph was still unknown when he took on “The Outsiders” role. Yet, the role shaped his career and changed Ralph’s life.

It was The Outsiders that helped Ralph win the role of Daniel LaRusso in “The Karate Kid,” that gave him his first title role a year later (1984). The film became a massive hit, made Ralph a household name and went on for two more successful sequels.

“The Karate Kid” got resurrected in the successful sequel series, “Cobra Kai” (2018 to 2025) and more recently, the newest sequel, “Karate Kid: Legends,” where Ralph gets to work with Jackie Chan and which introduces a new martial arts star and kung fu prodigy, Ben Wang. At the helm is Jonathan Entwistle.

Even now when he is already 63, Ralph is still apparently attached to his Daniel LaRusso character. The image is inevitably connected to him even after he married Phyllis Fierro in 1987 and the couple has two children.

C. Thomas Howell was Ponyboy Curtis, a character he landed after playing a minor role in Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. (Extra Terrestrial).”

Ponyboy was the center of the story and one of the best remembered teenage characters in film.

The breakthrough role stuck with Thomas throughout his career. “It’s the most beautiful fan moment for me when I meet women in their 40’s and I watched them turn into their 13-year-old self when they talk about ‘The Outsiders,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “It was still a very important part of my life.”

After “The Outsiders,” Thomas subsequently did high-profile projects that added to his impressive filmography – “Soul Man” (1986), “Gettysburg” (1993) and “The Amazing Spiderman” (2012).

When Matt Dillon took on the tragic character of Dallas “Dally” Winston in “The Outsiders,” he was already a teen heartthrob – thanks to back-to-back hits “Little Darlings” and “My Bodyguard” (both shown in 1980).

Playing Dallas in “The Outsiders” made Matt flex his acting muscles and gave life to the most hot-headed among the greasers.

After suffering from his loss, he decides there is no escape from his life of violence and finds his own way out.

Matt reunited with Coppola when the director worked anew with Hinton in the adaptation of “Rumble Fish” (1983), along with actor Mickey Rourke.

Matt garnered more acclaim in Gus Van Sant’s “Drugstore Cowboy” (1989), Cameron Crowe’s “Singles” (1992) and Gus Van Sant’s “To Die For” (1995) and “There’s Something About Mary” (1998) and “The Wild Things” (1998).

He went on to earn his first Oscar nomination as a racist cop in “Crash” (2004).

Other actors who graced “The Outsiders” and essayed memorable characters in the film are Diane Lane as Cherry Valance, Tom Cruise as Steven Randle and Leif Garrett as Bob Sheldon.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Leah C. Salterio