Henry Jackson Thomas (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

and received a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

, and

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

nominations. Thomas also had roles in '' Cloak & Dagger'' (1984), ''

Fire in the Sky ''Fire in the Sky'' is a 1993 American biopic science fiction mystery film directed by Robert Lieberman and adapted by Tracy Tormé. It is based on Travis Walton's book ''The Walton Experience'', which describes an extraterrestrial abduction ...

'' (1993), ''

Legends of the Fall ''Legends of the Fall'' is a 1994 American epic Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the fil ...

'' (1994), '' Suicide Kings'' (1997), '' All the Pretty Horses'' (2000), ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book ''The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...

'' (2002), '' 11:14'' (2003), and '' Dear John'' (2010). Thomas was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outsta ...

for his role in the

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

'' Indictment: The McMartin Trial'' (1997). More recently, Thomas collaborated with filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in the films '' Ouija: Origin of Evil'' (2016), ''

Gerald's Game ''Gerald's Game'' is a 1992 suspense novel by American writer Stephen King. The story is about a woman whose husband dies of a heart attack while she is handcuffed to a bed, and, following the subsequent realization that she is trapped with lit ...

'' (2017) and '' Doctor Sleep'' (2019) as well as the television series ''

The Haunting of Hill House ''The Haunting of Hill House'' is a 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. A finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century, it has been made ...

'' (2018) and its follow-up series ''

The Haunting of Bly Manor ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'' is an American gothic romance drama streaming television miniseries created by Mike Flanagan, and released on October 9, 2020 by Netflix. The second entry in Flanagan's '' The Haunting'' anthology series, it mostly ...

'' (2020), the former of which earned him a

. In 2021, he had a main role in Flanagan's horror series ''

Midnight Mass In many Western Christian traditions Midnight Mass is the first liturgy of Christmastide that is celebrated on the night of Christmas Eve, traditionally beginning at midnight when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. This popular Christmas c ...

''.

Early life

Thomas was born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. He attended East Central High School and

Blinn College Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. Brenham is Blinn's main campus, with dormitories and apartments. History Blinn was established as Mission Institute in 1 ...

Career

Acting

Thomas struggled with the popularity he gained in the months following the release of ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. In November 2019, Thomas reprised his role as Elliott for an

Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...

Sky UK Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

commercial, in which E.T. returns to visit a now-adult Elliott and his family for the holidays. Since 2016, Thomas has worked frequently with filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films '' Ouija: Origin of Evil'', ''

'' and '' Doctor Sleep'', as well as in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

horror series ''

'', which Flanagan created and directed. Thomas also has a role in Flanagan's follow up to ''The Haunting of Hill House'', ''

'', and Flanagan's mini-series ''

''. Thomas worked in '' Stargirl'' portraying

Doctor Mid-Nite Doctor Mid-Nite or Doctor Midnight is the name of multiple fictional superheroes in DC Comics. The figure has been represented in the comics by three different individuals, Charles McNider, Beth Chapel, and Pieter Anton Cross. Dr. Mid-Nite was o ...

and voicing his A.I. counterpart "Chuck" until the latter role was recast with Alex Collins in season two.

Music

Thomas wrote songs and played guitar for a San Antonio band, The Blue Heelers (named for the

breed of dog A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slight ...

), in the 1990s. Although the band was not signed to a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, it self-produced an album, ''Twister''. Thomas continued to write and record songs. In 1998, his song "Truckstop Coffee" (recorded with the Blue Heelers) appeared on V2's soundtrack for ''

Niagara, Niagara ''Niagara, Niagara'' is a 1997 film directed by Bob Gosse, and starring Henry Thomas, Robin Tunney, as well as Michael Parks, John Ventimiglia and Stephen Lang. A dark and tragic romantic tale about young love, drugs, a cross country trip and To ...

''. In 2003, Thomas and

Nikki Sudden Adrian Nicholas Godfrey (19 July 195626 March 2006), known professionally as Nikki Sudden, was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtracks, while attending So ...

collaborated on the music for

Mika Kaurismäki Mika Juhani Kaurismäki (; born 21 September 1955) is a Finnish film director. Biography Mika Kaurismäki is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki, and the father of Maria Kaurismäki, who graduated from Tampere School of Art and Media in 200 ...

's film ''Honey Baby'', which featured four original songs written and performed by Thomas as the fictional musician Tom Brackett. An album was in the works, but Sudden died unexpectedly in 2006.

Personal life

Thomas married actress

Marie Zielcke Marie Zielcke (born 3 February 1979 in Cologne) is a German film, television and stage actress. Mika Kaurismäki, who directed Zielcke in the 2000 film ''Highway Society'', introduced her to actor Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (bor ...

on May 10, 2004. They had a daughter, Hazel. The couple were divorced in 2007. Thomas also has two children with his current wife Annalee, and in 2014 moved to

Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. It was founded as Boones Landing because of th ...

. During the "Flanaverse Reunion" panel at 2022's "Season's Screamings" horror festival, Thomas acknowledged that he and actress

Alex Essoe Alexandra Essoe (born March 9, 1992) is a Canadian actress who has appeared predominantly in horror films. Essoe had her first lead role in the 2014 American horror film '' Starry Eyes'', and she had a starring role in the 2017 American horror fil ...

, his costar in Mike Flanagan's Doctor Sleep, have been romantically involved for some time now.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Other honors

* VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars" * 2005, ranked #4, E!'s "50 Cutest Child Stars All Grown-up" * 2013, inducted into the

Texas Film Hall of Fame The Texas Film Hall of Fame honors Texans who have made a significant contribution to film or filmmaking, as well as non-Texans who have made significant strides in the advancement of the Texan film industry. Classic Texas films are also honored, w ...

References

Bibliography

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 387–388.

External links

Yahoo! Role Recall:Henry Thomas remembers teary E.T. audition
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Henry American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from San Antonio Musicians from San Antonio 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians People from Wilsonville, Oregon 1971 births