Henry Thomas

Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. was born on September 9, 1971, in San Antonio, Texas. He attended East Central High School and Blinn College. Thomas began his career as a child actor, achieving widespread recognition for his lead role as Elliott Taylor in the 1982 film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” This role earned him a Young Artist Award and nominations for a Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, and Saturn Award. Following this initial success, Thomas continued to develop his acting career, taking on diverse roles in notable films like “Cloak & Dagger” (1984), “Fire in the Sky” (1993), “Legends of the Fall” (1994), “Suicide Kings” (1997), and “Gangs of New York” (2002).

Thomas’s career evolved beyond child acting, showcasing his range in various cinematic and television productions. He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for his performance in the 1997 television film “Indictment: The McMartin Trial.” In recent years, Thomas has frequently collaborated with filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in horror projects such as the films “Ouija: Origin of Evil” (2016), “Gerald’s Game” (2017), and “Doctor Sleep” (2019). His work with Flanagan also extends to television series including “The Haunting of Hill House” (2018), which earned him a Saturn Award, “The Haunting of Bly Manor” (2020), “Midnight Mass” (2021), and “The Fall of the House of Usher” (2023).

Beyond acting, Thomas also explored music, writing songs and playing guitar for the San Antonio band The Blue Heelers in the 1990s. His song “Truckstop Coffee” was featured on the soundtrack for “Niagara, Niagara” (1997), and he collaborated with Nikki Sudden on the music for Mika Kaurismäki’s film “Honey Baby” (2003). In 2019, he reprised his role as Elliott for an Xfinity & Sky UK commercial, demonstrating his continued connection to his iconic early work.