David Howard Thornton is an American actor. He is known for his role as

Art the Clown Art the Clown is a fictional character in the ''Terrifier'' franchise and related media. He first appeared in the short films ''The 9th Circle'' (2009) and ''Terrifier'' (2011) before making his feature film debut in ''All Hallows' Eve'' (2013). ...

, a role in which he appeared in ''

Terrifier ''Terrifier'' is a 2016 slasher film written and directed by Damien Leone. It stars Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi, Catherine Corcoran, and David Howard Thornton. The film follows partygoer Tara Heyes (Kanell), who becomes the target of a se ...

'' (2016), ''Mistress Peace Theatre'' (2020), ''

Terrifier 2 ''Terrifier 2'' is a 2022 American slasher film written, directed, edited and produced by Damien Leone. A sequel to ''Terrifier'' (2016), it is the third feature-length film to feature Art the Clown. It features the return of David Howard Thor ...

'' (2022) and '' Bupkis'' (2023). He has had other various roles in film, television and videos games, including '' Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress'' (2011), '' Ride to Hell: Retribution'' (2013), '' Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom'' (2013), '' Gotham'' (2017), ''

The Bravest Knight ''The Bravest Knight'' is a 2D animated series, produced by Big Bad Boo Studios and a Hulu original which became the first kids original on the streaming service. The first episodes were added to the streaming service on June 21, 2019 and the o ...

'' (2019), ''

The Exigency ''The Exigency'' is a 2019 American animated science-fiction action film written, directed, produced, and edited by Cody Vibbart. It features the voices of Tom Haney, Alexis Danner, Warren Halderman, Kayla Vibbart, Dillon Vibbart, Keith Todd, ...

'' (2019), ''

Alma's Way ''Alma's Way'' is an animated children's television series from Fred Rogers Productions created and executive produced by former ''Sesame Street'' actress Sonia Manzano and animated by Canadian animation studio Pipeline Studios. It premiered on ...

'' (2021) and starring as

the Mean One ''The Mean One'' is a 2022 American Christmas black comedy slasher film directed by Steven LaMorte and written by Flip and Finn Kobler. The film serves as an unauthorized horror retelling of Dr. Seuss' 1957 children's book ''How the Grinch Sto ...

in ''

The Mean One ''The Mean One'' is a 2022 American Christmas black comedy slasher film directed by Steven LaMorte and written by Flip and Finn Kobler. The film serves as an unauthorized horror retelling of Dr. Seuss' 1957 children's book ''How the Grinch Sto ...

'' (2022).

Career

Thornton has lent his voice to various characters in film, anime, television and in video games. In 2011, he voiced Malvic, Volran and Tengo in '' Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress''. He later provided voices in 2013 as Anvil, Dr. Blotter and Baggy Miner in '' Ride to Hell: Retribution'' and as Shizoku, Metal Mutt and Toxitoad in '' Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom''. In 2015, he provided additional voices for ''

Miss Hokusai is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by Hinako Sugiura, telling the story of Katsushika Ōi who worked in the shadow of her father Hokusai. It was adapted into an anime film directed by Keiichi Hara, that was relea ...

''. From 2016 to 2017, he appeared as

the Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...

in the fan-made webseries ''Nightwing: Escalation '' and later went on to appear in '' Gotham'', both projects that included characters by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. In 2016, Thornton portrayed

in ''

'', a film that became a

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

and for which he was nominated for a

Fangoria Chainsaw Award The Fangoria Chainsaw Awards are an award ceremony focused on horror and thriller films. Beginning in 1992, the awards were expanded and an annual ceremony was inaugurated to give out the awards. As of 2015, Fangoria also delivers awards to tele ...

for Best Supporting Actor. In 2022, Thornton reprised the role of Art the Clown in ''

''. ''Terrifier 2'' was well received by critics and a hit at the box office, grossing more than $15 million on a $250,000 budget. Also in 2022, Thornton starred as

, a horror retelling of ''

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...

'', in ''

''. Thornton reprised the role of Art the Clown in the 2023

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

series, '' Bupkis'', with the character also set to return in ''Terrifier 3''. He is set to appear as Shark Bait Zombie in the upcoming film, ''Night of the Living Dead 2'' and as Player 2 in the upcoming film, ''

Stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, David Howard 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Living people Male actors from Alabama People from Huntsville, Alabama