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 (1982), 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. He attended East Central High School before entering Blinn College; he left without a degree.
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." Casting director Marci Liroff said, "In about 3 seconds flat he had us all crying behind the camera ...it was one of the most amazing and moving audition experiences I had really ever been through."
The film made Thomas and his co-star Drew Barrymore instant stars. Made for a budget of $10.5 million, E.T. made $797.3 million at the box office, becoming at the time the highest grossing film ever. However, Thomas revealed in 2012 that he made minimum wage at the time, under $10,000. 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." He returned to San Antonio to focus on school, but appeared in 1984's Cloak & Dagger and 1989's Valmont.
Thomas struggled with the popularity he gained in the months following the 1982 release of E.T. In November 2019, Thomas reprised his role as Elliott for an Xfinity & Sky UK 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, 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 Year Title Role Notes1981Raggedy ManHarry1982E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialElliott Taylor1984MisunderstoodAndrew RawleyCloak & DaggerDavey Osborne1985Frog DreamingCody Walpole1988Murder OneBilly Isaacs1989ValmontRaphael Danceny1993Fire in the SkyGreg Hayes1994Curse of the Starving ClassWesley TateLegends of the FallSamuel Ludlow1997Niagara, NiagaraSethSuicide KingsAvery ChastenBombshellBuck Hogan1999FeverNick Parker2000The House That ScreamedJack GilltonDirect-to-videoA Good BabyRaymond TokerAll the Pretty HorsesLacey Rawlins2001The QuickieAlex2002Dead in the WaterJeffI'm with LucyBarryGangs of New YorkJohnny Sirocco2003I Capture the CastleSimon Cotton11:14Jack LevineHoney BabyTom BrackettBriar PatchEdgar MacBeth2004Dead BirdsWilliam2006The Hard EasyPaul Weston2007The Last Sin EaterMan of GodSuffering Man's CharityEric Rykell2008Red VelvetAaron2009Don't Look UpJosh Petri2010Dear JohnTim Wheddon2011The Last RideHank Williams Sr.2013Big SurPhilip Whalen2016Ouija: Origin of EvilFather Tom Hogan2017Gerald's GameTom Burlingame2019The Great Alaskan RaceThompsonDoctor SleepThe Bartender / Jack TorranceA Holiday ReunionElliott TaylorShort film2021To All the Boys: Always and ForeverMr. Kavinski2022Sam & KateRonCrawlspaceRobert Mitchell2023Pet Sematary: BloodlinesDan Crandall2024The Curse of the NecklaceFrank Davis 2025 Due West Pastor Mike Also co-producer
Television Year Title Role Notes1990Psycho IV: The BeginningYoung Norman BatesTelevision film1992A Taste for KillingCary SloanTelevision film1995Indictment: The McMartin TrialRay BuckeyTelevision film1996Riders of the Purple SageBern VentersTelevision film1998Moby DickIshmaelMiniseries1999Happy Face MurdersDylan McCarthyTelevision film2005Masters of HorrorJamieEpisode: "Chocolate"2006Stephen King's DesperationPeter JacksonTelevision filmNightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen KingRobert FornoyEpisode: "The End of the Whole Mess"2007–08Without a TraceFranklin Romar2 episodes2009CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationJeremy KentEpisode: "If I Had a Hammer"2011The MentalistThomas LisbonEpisode: "Where in the World is Carmine O'Brien?"2013–14BetrayalT.J. Karsten13 episodes2015Sons of LibertyJohn AdamsMiniseries2016Law & Order: Special Victims UnitSean RobertsEpisode: "Making a Rapist"2017Better ThingsRobin4 episodes2018The Haunting of Hill HouseYoung Hugh CrainSeries regularGirl in the BunkerVinson FilyawTelevision film2020FBI: Most WantedDr. Justin BrockEpisode: "Dopesick"StargirlCharles McNider / Doctor Mid-Nite, Voice of ChuckRecurring roleThe Haunting of Bly ManorHenry WingraveSeries regular2021Midnight MassEd FlynnSeries regularJust BeyondCrazy ChrisEpisode: "Parents are from Mars, Kids are from Venus"2022The Midnight ClubFreedom JackEpisode: "Road to Nowhere"2023The Fall of the House of UsherFrederick Usher Series regular
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
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