Henry Thomas

Henry Jackson Thomas, Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He has

appeared in over 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott Taylor in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the

Extra-Terrestrial (1982). He is also known for his roles in films such as Cloak & Dagger (1984),

Legends of the Fall (1994), and Gangs of New York (2002).

Personal life

Thomas was born an only child in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Carolyn L. (née Davis), a homemaker,

and Henry Jackson Thomas, a hydraulic machinist. He attended East Central High School in San Antonio

and Blinn College in Brenham. Thomas is of Welsh descent.

Career[edit]

Acting career

After E.T., Thomas returned to Texas and only occasionally acted (Cloak & Dagger and on TV) while

attending school. He returned to film in the late 1980s and early 1990s and began to prove himself in adult roles, most notably as the younger

version of Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates character in Psycho IV: The Beginning.

His most prominent adult role to date was as "Samuel Ludlow" in Legends of the Fall (1994). In 2002, he starred as supporting character Johnny

Sirocco in the Martin Scorsese historical fiction film Gangs of New York. He is currently both an actor and musician and starred in the 2011 film The

Last Ride (2011) as musician Hank Williams Sr. In the ABC series Betrayal, he plays T.J. Karsten.

Music

Thomas wrote songs, sang, and played guitar for the San Antonio, Texas band The Blue Heelers (named for the breed of dog) from the mid to late

1990s. Although the band was never signed to a record label, its self-produced album Twister was warmly received and enjoyed statewide radio

play. Moving to Los Angeles in 1998, the band dissolved, but Thomas continued to write and record songs. In 1998, his song "Truckstop Coffee"

(recorded with the Blue Heelers) appeared on V2's soundtrack to the film Niagara, Niagara in which Thomas appeared.

In 2003, Thomas worked with Nikki Sudden on the music for Mika Kaurismäki's film Honey Baby, which featured four original songs written and

performed by Thomas as the fictitious musician Tom Brackett. An album was in the works, but Sudden died in 2006.

Awards and honors

• VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars"
• 2005, ranked #4, E!'s "50 Cutest Child Stars All Grown-up"