"This role is nothing like anything I've ever played": Tommy Howell on his experience shooting the Netflix action comedy series Obliterated (Exclusive)

Tommy "C Thomas" Howell has had a career spanning 40 years as an actor, writer, and producer in Hollywood. The artist strives to achieve newer heights, be it his recently released music, including two singles, Rose Hill and Whiskey Demon, or his being cast in the Netflix action comedy series Obliterated by Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald.

Obliterated has been given an eight-episode order and tells the story of "an elite Special Forces team who thwarts a deadly threat to Las Vegas."

The actor is known for his incredible performances as Ponyboy in the movie Outsiders. His other noteworthy projects include Southland and Criminal Minds, and his television appearances include Baby Face Nelson, Fatal Affair, Asylum Days, and Hoboken Hollow, among many others.

In a conversation with Varsha Narayanan of Sportskeeda, Tommy opened up about his new role and his experience filming with a distinguished set of team members. Speaking about his role on Obliterated, he said:

"This role is nothing like anything I've ever played."

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Tommy Howell's experience on the set of Obliterated and more

Tommy plays the role of Haggerty, the eccentric Army Explosives technician, in the Netflix action comedy series Obliterated, alongside five fellow cast members, Terrence Terrell, Alyson Gorske, Eugene Kim, Paola Lázaro, and Amalia Yoo. Nick Zano and Shelley Hennig also feature in the series, produced by Sony Television.

When asked how different this role has been in comparison to his vast experience playing a number of characters in movies and television series, Tommy explained:

"It has been one of the greatest projects I've been a part of. I think a lot of projects need a flawed character, and I’m a little bit of a complicated guy, and lately I'm able to provide that on set so I can play the guy that's been there before. I'm a nice guy, but I don't suffer fools, you know?"

Speaking in more detail about the concept of the film and his experience filming the same, Tommy said:

"Obliterated is produced by the same people who created Cobra Kai. They come from a comedic background, they did all the Harold & Kumars, the Hot Tub Time Machines."

The actor continued:

"Our story is sort of a crossover between I'd say "24" and "The Hangover." I play this EOD Tech, this guy that takes the bombs apart, and our story is about a group of team members who are hired to track down a dirty nuke that's being sold in Las Vegas. It’s been a blast."

Confessing his passion to play "flawed characters," Tommy explained that he finds a way to "humanize them and make them more likable" in the eyes of the audience.

"There's something about that that I find to be challenging. I like stacking the chips against me, I want to be painted into a corner and be told, “Okay, get out, but don't step on the paint.” I really like the puzzle of that. When I'm able to carve something likable from something that's unlikable I feel like I have achieved something."

The story documents the team dismantling a bomb that turns out to be fake. Following a celebration party, the cast members learn of the situation and realize they don't have much time to find and defuse the real bomb. This, Tommy felt, is bound to drive viewers into the Netflix series. He said:

"It's gonna shock some people. These team members are hired to track down a dirty nuke. We’re shooting eight episodes, and on episode one we find the bomb, dismantle it and proceed to party to the extent of getting completely annihilated when we get a phone call and we're told that it was a decoy bomb, we have five hours to find the real bomb, and everybody's annihilated and we go back to work. You’re gonna like it."

Considering he's had a vast life experience, both personally and professionally, Tommy had a few words of inspiration for everyone to live by. He wished for people to "embrace the change" and get through the threshold of fear to make their lives better. He said:

"We don't wanna go through that change because we don't want to risk our lives getting worse. So we just stay the same for so damn long. But if we embrace that change and go for it, I mean that miracle life changing moment is just beyond that threshold of fear that we don't wanna step across and we gotta do it."

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Tommy also released his debut single, titled Rose Hill, on September 16, 2022, and his second single, Whiskey Demon, on October 21, 2022. With the world coming to a stop during the pandemic, Tommy connected with elite Nashville musicians to begin his singing and songwriting journey.