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Henry Thomas
Henry Thomas Photo Op Nightmare Weekend Richmond 2023.jpg
Thomas at Nightmare Weekend Richmond in 2023
Born
Henry Jackson Thomas

(1971-09-09) September 9, 1971 (age 53)
Education Blinn College
Occupation Actor
Years active 1981–present
Spouse(s)
Kelley Hill
(m. 2000; div. 2002)
Marie Zielcke
(m. 2004; div. 2007)
Annalee Fery
(m. 2009)
Children 3

Henry Jackson Thomas (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He started acting when he was a child. His most famous role was playing Elliott Taylor in the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). For this role, he won a Young Artist Award. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Saturn Award.

Henry Thomas has appeared in many other films. These include Cloak & Dagger (1984) and Fire in the Sky (1993). He also acted in Legends of the Fall (1994) and Gangs of New York (2002). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in the TV movie Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1997).

More recently, Thomas has worked often with filmmaker Mike Flanagan. He appeared in Flanagan's films like Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) and Doctor Sleep (2019). He also starred in Flanagan's TV series The Haunting of Hill House (2018). This role earned him a Saturn Award. He also appeared in The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) and Midnight Mass (2021). In 2023, he was in The Fall of the House of Usher.

Early Life and Beginnings

Henry Thomas was born in San Antonio, Texas. He went to East Central High School. Later, he studied at Blinn College.

Acting Career Highlights

Henry Thomas became very famous after E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released in 1982. It was a big change for him. In 2019, he played Elliott again for a special holiday commercial. E.T. came back to visit an adult Elliott and his family.

Since 2016, Thomas has worked a lot with director Mike Flanagan. He has been in several of Flanagan's horror films. These include Ouija: Origin of Evil and Gerald's Game. He also appeared in Doctor Sleep.

Thomas has also been in Flanagan's popular Netflix horror TV series. He played a main role in The Haunting of Hill House. He also appeared in its follow-up, The Haunting of Bly Manor. Another series he starred in for Flanagan was Midnight Mass.

He also had a role in the TV series Stargirl. He played Doctor Mid-Nite. He also voiced Doctor Mid-Nite's A.I. helper, "Chuck."

Music Ventures

In the 1990s, Henry Thomas played guitar and wrote songs. He was part of a band from San Antonio called The Blue Heelers. The band was named after a type of dog. They released their own album called Twister.

Thomas continued to create music. In 1998, his song "Truckstop Coffee" was featured on a movie soundtrack. In 2003, he worked with musician Nikki Sudden on music for a film. Thomas wrote and performed four songs for the movie Honey Baby. He played a fictional musician named Tom Brackett in the film.

Personal Life

Henry Thomas has three children. He lives in Wilsonville, Oregon. He moved there in 2014.

Filmography

Movies

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Raggedy Man Harry
1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Elliott
1984 Misunderstood Andrew
1984 Cloak & Dagger Davey Osborne
1985 Frog Dreaming Cody
1988 Murder One Billy Isaacs
1989 Valmont Raphael Danceny
1993 Fire in the Sky Greg Hayes
1994 Curse of the Starving Class Wesley Tate
1994 Legends of the Fall Samuel Ludlow
1997 Niagara, Niagara Seth
1999 Fever Nick Parker
2000 The House That Screamed Jack Gillton Direct-to-video
2000 A Good Baby Raymond Toker
2000 All the Pretty Horses Lacey Rawlins
2001 The Quickie Alex
2002 Dead in the Water Jeff
2002 I'm with Lucy Barry
2002 Gangs of New York Johnny Sirocco
2003 I Capture the Castle Simon Cotton
2003 11:14 Jack
2003 Honey Baby Tom Brackett
2003 Briar Patch Edgar MacBeth
2004 Dead Birds William
2006 The Hard Easy Paul Weston
2007 The Last Sin Eater Man of God
2007 Suffering Man's Charity Eric Rykell
2008 Red Velvet Aaron
2010 Dear John Tim
2011 The Last Ride Hank Williams Sr.
2013 Big Sur Philip Whalen
2016 Ouija: Origin of Evil Father Tom Hogan
2017 Gerald's Game Tom Burlingame
2019 The Great Alaskan Race Thompson
2019 Doctor Sleep The Bartender / Jack Torrance
2019 A Holiday Reunion Elliott Short film
2021 To All the Boys: Always and Forever Mr. Kavinski
2022 Sam & Kate Ron
2022 Crawlspace Robert Mitchell
2023 Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Dan Crandall
2024 The Curse of the Necklace Frank Davis

Television Roles

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Psycho IV: The Beginning Young Norman 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 1 episode
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 1 episode
2020 Stargirl Charles McNider / 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

Awards and Recognitions

Henry Thomas has received several awards and nominations for his acting.

Awards and nominations for acting
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 6th DVD 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 Pending

Other Honors

  • He was featured on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Kid Stars."
  • In 2005, he was ranked #4 on E!'s "50 Cutest Child Stars All Grown-up."
  • In 2013, he was welcomed into the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Henry Thomas para niños

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