Henry Thomas is an American actor that made his name playing Elliot in ET the Extra-Terrestrial and Jack Torrance in Doctor Sleep.
Thomas has been active in the film industry since 1981 and has appeared in over 70 movies and TV shows since then, some major and some minor projects. He seems to have the knack for playing critical roles in horror movies, usually those directed by Mike Flanagan.
The actor has been married three times and has three children. In addition to his activity in the film business, he is also involved in music making. Here, we unraveled a few mysteries about Henry Thomas, starting with ten significant facts you should know concerning him.
10 important facts on Henry Thomas
- Thomas was born on September 9, 1971, and turned 52 in 2022.
- The actor started acting at ten and played Elliott in the 1982 science fiction movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
- He went to East Central High School and obtained his degree at Blinn College.
- Henry Thomas played Davey Osborne in Cloak & Dagger, Samuel Ludlow in Legends of the Fall, Johnny Sirocco in Gangs of New York, and John Adams in Sons of Liberty.
- In recent years, he began participating in several horror film and TV series productions because he collaborated with director Mike Flanagan.
- He played Jack Torrance in Doctor Sleep, young Hugh Crain in The Haunting of Hill House, Ed Flynn in Midnight Mass, and more.
- The actor featured as Dr. Justin Brock in FBI: Most Wanted, Charles McNider, Doctor Mid-Nite, and the Voice of Chuck in Stargirl.
- Thomas was also involved in music making, and he was part of The Blue Heelers band as a guitarist, and they released an album titled Twister.
- He was married three times and had children with two of his previous wives, Hazel, Henry, and Evelyn.
- Henry Thomas net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million in 2022.
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Early life
Henry Thomas was born on September 9, 1971, in San Antonio, Texas, to Henry Jackson Thomas Sr. and Carolyn L. (née Davis). His father worked as a hydraulic machinist, and his mom was a homemaker. Thomas went to East Central High School and got his degree at Blinn College.
He started his acting career long before finishing high school, but he returned to complete his education.
Career
Henry Thomas movies and TV shows (as Elliott in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial)
At the age of 10, Thomas played Harry in the 1981 drama film Raggedy Man and the following year, and he featured as Elliott in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The science fiction movie became an instant hit and passed Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time, garnering $794.9 million at the box office. After ET, the shadow of his early success continued following him throughout his career as he struggled to replicate it.
In 1984 he starred in the leading role of Andrew in the drama film Misunderstood and played Davey Osborne in the spy-adventure movie Cloak & Dagger. Then, he starred as Cody in Frog Dreaming, an Australian adventure film.
Thomas was featured as Raphael Danceny in the 1989 romantic drama film Valmont, alongside Colin Firth, Annette Bening, and Meg Tilly.
In 1990, his TV career began with a few television films, such as Psycho IV: The Beginning and A Taste for Killing, where he played Young Norman Bates and Cary Sloan, respectively. He played Greg Hayes in Fire in the Sky, a 1993 sci-fi movie about alien life. In 1994, the actor was in Curse of the Starving Class as Wesley Tate and Legends of the Fall as Samuel Ludlow, and the latter also featured Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, and Julia Ormond.
Between 1995 and 1996, he starred in the TV film Indictment: The McMartin Trial as Ray Buckey and in Riders of the Purple Sage as Bern Venters, alongside Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. From 1997 to 2000, Thomas was featured in several horror movies like Fever (1999) and The House That Screamed (2000). He was also in the Moby Dick miniseries as Ishmael, which aired in 1998.
Gangs of New York and Ouija: Origin of Evil
In the 2002 Gangs of New York by Martin Scorsese, Thomas played Johnny Sirocco alongside the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz. He was Jamie in an episode of the anthology TV series Masters of Horror and Peter Jackson in the TV film Stephen King’s Desperation. Throughout the 2000s, he was a regular feature in horror movies like Dead Birds (2004), Suffering Man’s Charity (2007), and Red Velvet (2008).
However, he also had parts in other sorts of productions. For example, the actor played Barry in the romantic comedy I’m with Lucy and Paul Weston in the 2006 crime drama The Hard Easy. During the same period, he turned up in some TV series such as Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, Without a Trace, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, although usually in small roles.
In the 2011 music drama film The Last Ride, Henry Thomas appeared as Hank Williams Sr. He was Philip Whalen in the adventure drama Big Sur and Father Tom Hogan in the supernatural horror movie Ouija: Origin of Evil. In 2017, he played Tom in the psychological horror thriller Gerald’s Game.
