John Stockwell

A well-trained supporting player of A-list movies and lead in lower-budget projects, John Stockwell was often cast as a rambunctious youth or tough guy with secrets. Although he had done some amateur theater, Stockwell began acting professionally while still a student at Harvard, commuting between Cambridge, Massachusetts and NYC to appear in the CBS daytime drama "Guiding Light." He also made his feature film debut while still in college: a small role in Andrew Bergman's "So Fine" (1981). Numerous modestly priced films geared toward the youth market followed. Stockwell was Keith Gordon's buddy in the haunted car drama, "Christine," based on the Stephen King novel and joined Tom Cruise on a teen jaunt in Mexico in "Losin' It" (both 1983). By the time he and Cruise next co-starred, their roles were reversed with Stockwell decidedly in support of the superstar playing Cougar, the F-14 pilot who grounds himself thus giving Cruise's a shot at being "Top Gun" (1986). The actor also had a rather high profile turn as the high school teen out to create a time machine in "My Science Project" (1985).