Henry Thomas
| Henry Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Henry Jackson Thomas, Jr. September 9, 1971 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor/Musician |
| Years active | 1981 – present |
| Spouse | Kelly Hill (2000–2002) Marie Zielcke (2004–2007) |
Henry Jackson Thomas, Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in more than 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Thomas was born an only child in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Carolyn L. (née Davis), a homemaker, and Henry Jackson Thomas, a hydraulic machinist.[1] In San Antonio he attended East Central High School, in the ECISD district, and Blinn College in Bryan, Texas.[2]
[edit] Career
[edit] Acting career
Shortly after his appearance in E.T., Thomas also made some appearances in commercials for the Intellivision console by Mattel, alongside George Plimpton,[3] whom he always referred to as "Mr. Intellivision". In all these commercials, Plimpton always asked what Thomas's name is, but is never mentioned. According to Intellivision Products, Inc., Atari threatened to sue Mattel if Thomas was identified in the commercials, since Atari was securing the rights for the Atari 2600 E.T. video game at the time.
After E.T., Thomas returned to Texas, occasionally acting in film and on TV while attending school.
Thomas returned to film in the late 1980s and early 1990s and began to prove himself in adult roles, most notably as the younger version of Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates character in Psycho IV: The Beginning. His most prominent adult role to date was as Samuel Ludlow in 1994's Legends of the Fall. He is currently both an actor and musician. He will starred in the film The Last Ride, in the lead role as Hank Williams Sr..
[edit] Music
Thomas wrote songs, sang, and played guitar for the San Antonio, Texas band The Blue Heelers from the mid to late '90s. Although the band was never signed to a record label, their self-produced album Twister was warmly received and enjoyed statewide radio play. Moving to Los Angeles in 1998, the band dissolved, but Thomas continued to write and record songs. In 1998, his song "Truckstop Coffee" (recorded with the Blue Heelers) appeared on V2's soundtrack to the film Niagara, Niagara in which Henry Thomas also acted. In 2003, Thomas worked with Nikki Sudden on the music for Mika Kaurismaki's film Honey Baby which featured four original songs written and performed by Thomas as the fictitious musician Tom Brackett. An album was in the works, but their collaboration was ended by Sudden's death in 2006. Thomas continues to live and play in the LA area with the band Farspeaker.
[edit] Awards and honors
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film | |||
| 1981 | Raggedy Man | Harry, Jr. | |
| 1982 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Elliott | |
| 1984 | Misunderstood | Andrew | |
| 1984 | Cloak & Dagger | Davey Osborne | |
| 1986 | Frog Dreaming (aka The Quest) | Cody | |
| 1988 | Murder One | Billy Isaacs | |
| 1989 | Valmont | Raphael Danceny | |
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | Young Norman Bates | |
| 1993 | Fire in the Sky | Greg Hayes | |
| 1994 | Curse of the Starving Class | Wesley Tate | |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | Samuel Ludlow | |
| 1996 | Bombshell | Buck Hogan | |
| 1997 | Hijacking Hollywood | Kevin | |
| 1997 | Niagara, Niagara | Seth | |
| 1997 | Suicide Kings | Avery Chasten | |
| 1999 | Fever | Nick Parker | |
| 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 | Briar Patch (aka Plain Dirty) | Edgar MacBeth | |
| 2003 | 11:14 | Jack | |
| 2003 | Honey Baby | Tom | |
| 2004 | Dead Birds | William | |
| 2005 | The Hard Easy | Paul Weston | |
| 2006 | Desperation | Peter Jackson | TV movie |
| 2007 | The Last Sin Eater | Man of God | |
| 2007 | Suffering Man's Charity | Eric Rykell | |
| 2009 | Red Velvet | Aaron | |
| 2009 | Don't Look Up | ||
| 2009 | Sweet Flame | Bill | |
| 2010 | Dear John | Tim | |
| 2012 | Big Sur | Philip Whalen | |
| Television | |||
| 1981 | The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid | The Kid | |
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | Young Norman Bates | |
| 1992 | A Taste for Killing | Cary Sloan | |
| 1994 | Beyond Obsession | John Thompson | |
| 1995 | Indictment: The McMartin Trial | Ray Buckey | |
| 1996 | Riders of the Purple Sage | Bern Venters | |
| 1998 | Moby Dick | Ishmael | |
| 1999 | Happy Face Murders | Dylan McCarthy | |
| 2005 | Masters of Horror | Jamie | One episode |
| 2007–2008 | Without a Trace | Franklin Romar | Two episodes |
| 2009 | CSI | Jeremy Kent | Episode 214 |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Thomas Lisbon | Season 4, Episode 6 |
