Henry Thomas | |
|---|---|
 Thomas at Nightmare Weekend Richmond in 2023 | |
| Born | Henry Jackson Thomas (1971-09-09)September 9, 1971 (age 53) San Antonio,Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Blinn College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
Henry Jackson Thomas[1] (born September 9, 1971)[2] is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had the lead role ofElliott Taylor in the filmE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), for which he won aYoung Artist Award and receivedGolden Globe Award,BAFTA Award, andSaturn Award nominations. Thomas also had roles in other films, includingCloak & Dagger (1984),Valmont (1989),Fire in the Sky (1993),Legends of the Fall (1994),Suicide Kings (1997),All the Pretty Horses (2000),Gangs of New York (2002),11:14 (2003), andDear John (2010). Thomas was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for his role in thetelevision filmIndictment: The McMartin Trial (1997).
More recently, Thomas collaborated with filmmakerMike Flanagan, appearing in the filmsOuija: Origin of Evil (2016),Gerald's Game (2017) andDoctor Sleep (2019) as well as the television seriesThe Haunting of Hill House (2018) (which earned him aSaturn Award) and its follow-up seriesThe Haunting of Bly Manor (2020). In 2021, he had a main role in Flanagan's horror seriesMidnight Mass, and, in 2023, he starred as one of the Usher siblings inThe Fall of the House of Usher (2023), also by Flanagan.
Thomas was born inSan Antonio, Texas.[1] He attendedEast Central High School andBlinn College.[1][3]
During a 2018 interview with Lorraine Kelly, he commented on his strong connections to Wales, confirming that "Both my mother and father's family come from Wales - north and south". In the same interview, he also stated that he was a fan ofSwansea City A.F.C..[4]
Thomas struggled with the popularity he gained in the months following the 1982 release ofE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[5] In November 2019, Thomas reprised his role as Elliott for anXfinity &Sky UK commercial, in which E.T. returns to visit a now-adult Elliott and his family for the holidays.[6]
Since 2016, Thomas has worked frequently with filmmakerMike Flanagan, appearing in his filmsOuija: Origin of Evil,Gerald's Game andDoctor Sleep, as well as in theNetflix horror seriesThe Haunting of Hill House, which Flanagan created and directed. Thomas also has a role in Flanagan's follow up toThe Haunting of Hill House,The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Flanagan's mini-seriesMidnight Mass.
Thomas worked inStargirl portrayingDoctor Mid-Nite and voicing his A.I. counterpart "Chuck" until the latter role was recast with Alex Collins in season two.
Thomas wrote songs and played guitar for a San Antonio band, The Blue Heelers (named for thebreed of dog), in the 1990s. Although the band was not signed to arecord label, it self-produced an album,Twister. Thomas continued to write and record songs. In 1998, his song "Truckstop Coffee" (recorded with the Blue Heelers) appeared on V2's soundtrack forNiagara, Niagara.[7] In 2003, Thomas andNikki Sudden collaborated on the music forMika Kaurismäki's filmHoney Baby, which featured four original songs written and performed by Thomas as the fictional musician Tom Brackett.[8] An album was in the works, but Sudden died unexpectedly in 2006.[9]
Thomas married actressMarie Zielcke on May 10, 2004. They had a daughter. The couple were divorced in 2007. Thomas also has two children with his third wife Annalee Fery,[10][5] and in 2014 moved toWilsonville, Oregon.[11][12] Thomas and Fery separated during an unspecified point in time. He is currently dating actressIndia Eisley.[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | YoungNorman Bates | Television film |
| 1992 | A Taste for Killing | Cary Sloan | Television film |
| 1995 | Indictment: The McMartin Trial | Ray Buckey | Television film |
| 1996 | Riders of the Purple Sage | Bern Venters | Television film |
| 1998 | Moby Dick | Ishmael | Miniseries |
| 1999 | Happy Face Murders | Dylan McCarthy | Television film |
| 2005 | Masters of Horror | Jamie | Episode: "Chocolate" |
| 2006 | Stephen King's Desperation | Peter Jackson | Television film |
| 2006 | Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King | Robert Fornoy | Episode: "The End of the Whole Mess" |
| 2007–08 | Without a Trace | Franklin Romar | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Jeremy Kent | Episode: "If I Had a Hammer" |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Thomas Lisbon | Episode: "Where in the World is Carmine O'Brien?" |
| 2013–14 | Betrayal | T.J. Karsten | 13 episodes |
| 2015 | Sons of Liberty | John Adams | Miniseries |
| 2016 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Sean Roberts | Episode: "Making a Rapist" |
| 2017 | Better Things | Robin | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | The Haunting of Hill House | Young Hugh Crain | Series regular |
| 2018 | Girl in the Bunker | Vinson Filyaw | Television film |
| 2020 | FBI: Most Wanted | Dr. Justin Brock | Episode: "Dopesick" |
| 2020 | Stargirl | Charles McNider /Doctor Mid-Nite, Voice of Chuck | Recurring role |
| 2020 | The Haunting of Bly Manor | Henry Wingrave | Series regular |
| 2021 | Midnight Mass | Ed Flynn | Series regular |
| 2021 | Just Beyond | Crazy Chris | Episode: "Parents are from Mars, Kids are from Venus" |
| 2022 | The Midnight Club | Freedom Jack | Episode: "Road to Nowhere" |
| 2023 | The Fall of the House of Usher | Frederick Usher | Series regular |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 3rd Youth in Film Awards | Best Young Motion Picture Actor | Raggedy Man | Nominated | |
| 1982 | 4th Youth in Film Awards | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Won | ||
| 1983 | 40th Golden Globe Awards | New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male | Nominated | ||
| 36th British Academy Film Awards | Most Outstanding Newcomer to Leading Film Roles | Nominated | |||
| 10th Saturn Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | |||
| 1984 | 6th Youth in Film Awards | Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama | Cloak & Dagger | Nominated | |
| 1996 | 53rd Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Indictment: The McMartin Trial | Nominated | |
| 2006 | 6thDVD Exclusive Awards | Best Actor in a DVD Premiere Movie | 11:14 | Nominated | |
| 2019 | 45th Saturn Awards | Best Actor in Streaming Presentation | The Haunting of Hill House | Won | |
| 2025 | 52nd Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series | The Fall of the House of Usher | Nominated | [14] |
Actor Henry Thomas is 51.
