Henry Thomas

Henry Jackson Thomas (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had the lead role of Elliott Taylor in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, and Saturn Award nominations. Thomas also had roles in other films, including Cloak & Dagger (1984), Frog Dreaming (1986), Valmont (1989), Fire in the Sky (1993), Legends of the Fall (1994), Suicide Kings (1997), All the Pretty Horses (2000), Gangs of New York (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 for his role in the television film 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 (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019) as well as the television series The Haunting of Hill House (2018) (which earned him a Saturn Award) and its follow-up series The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020). In 2021, he had a main role in Flanagan's horror series Midnight Mass, and, in 2023, he starred as one of the Usher siblings in The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), also by Flanagan.

Early life Thomas was born in San Antonio, Texas.

During a 2018 interview with Lorraine Kelly, he commented on his strong connections to Wales, confirming that "Both my mother and father's family come from Wales - north and south". In the same interview, he also stated that he was a fan of Swansea City A.F.C..

Career Acting Thomas's first role was in the Sissy Spacek drama Raggedy Man in 1981 at the age of eight. That film's director Jack Fisk suggested Thomas for the lead role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Hundreds of boys auditioned, but Thomas' audition in front of director Steven Spielberg was so convincing that as he finished, Spielberg said "OK kid, you got the job." He also said the film made it nearly impossible for him to live normally for some time, stating, "I was a shy kid, and being approached by adults all the time just freaked me out."

Since 2016, Thomas has worked frequently with filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep, as well as in the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House, which Flanagan created and directed. Thomas also has a role in Flanagan's follow up to The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Flanagan's mini-series Midnight Mass.

Thomas worked in Stargirl portraying Doctor Mid-Nite 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), in the 1990s. Although the band was not signed to a record label, 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. In 2003, Thomas and Nikki Sudden collaborated on the music for Mika Kaurismäki'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 on May 10, 2004. They had a daughter. The couple were divorced in 2007. Thomas also has two children with his third wife Annalee Fery, and in 2014 moved to Wilsonville, Oregon. Thomas and Fery separated during an unspecified point in time. In 2025, he was reported to be dating actress India Eisley.

Filmography Film

Television

Awards and nominations + Awards and nominations for acting Year Award Category Nominated work Result Reference(s) 1981 3rd Youth in Film Awards Best Young Motion Picture Actor Raggedy Man 1982 4th Youth in Film Awards E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1983 40th Golden Globe Awards New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male 36th British Academy Film Awards Most Outstanding Newcomer to Leading Film Roles 10th Saturn Awards Best Actor 1984 6th Youth in Film Awards Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama Cloak & Dagger 1996 53rd Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film Indictment: The McMartin Trial 2006 6th DVD Exclusive Awards Best Actor in a DVD Premiere Movie 11:14 2019 45th Saturn Awards Best Actor in Streaming Presentation The Haunting of Hill House 2025 52nd Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series The Fall of the House of Usher

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