Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor who has starred in films such as Heathers, Kuffs, True Romance, He Was a Quiet Man, Broken Arrow, The Legend of Billie Jean and Pump Up The Volume.

Slater was born in New York City of English and Irish descent, the son of Mary Jo Slater (née Lauden), a casting executive and producer, and Michael Hawkins (né Thomas Knight Slater), an actor who is also known as Michael Gainsborough. Slater has a maternal half-brother, Ryan Slater, who is also an actor. Slater attended the Dalton School, the Professional Children's School and the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

Following a run on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, Slater made his Broadway debut as the lisping Winthrop Paroo opposite Dick Van Dyke in the 1980 revival of The Music Man. Additional Broadway credits include Copperfield, Merlin, Macbeth, Side Man, and The Glass Menagerie. In addition he has performed in London's West End in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Swimming With Sharks. Slater made his big screen debut in 1985's film The Legend of Billie Jean, and had significant roles in the 1986 mystery film The Name of the Rose, the 1989 dark comedy Heathers and Skateboarding flick Gleaming The Cube, and the 1990 teen film Pump Up the Volume. His most notable roles from the '90s include the role of outlaws "Arkansas" Dave Rudabaugh in 1990's Young Guns II and Clarence Worley in 1993's True Romance. He also voiced the character John Watson a.k.a. "Wonko the Sane" in BBC Radio 4's production of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.