My Take
Henry Thomas will always be Elliott to me — the kid who believed in a wrinkled alien when nobody else would, and made an entire generation ugly-cry over a glowing red finger. What's wild is that E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came out in 1982, when he was just ten years old, and the performance holds up completely: raw, unguarded, genuinely heartbreaking. A lot of child actors peak there and vanish, but Thomas quietly kept working — genre films, indie projects, Mike Flanagan's Netflix horror universe — building a career that never chased the spotlight but stayed interesting. The Texas roots seem to suit him; there's a grounded, no-nonsense quality to how he carries himself on screen. And yeah, the guy plays guitar too, which somehow tracks perfectly for someone who always felt more artist than celebrity.
Overview
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.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Henry Thomas
- Name (Japanese)
- ヘンリー・トーマス
- Reading
- へんりー・とーます
- Born
- September 9, 1971 (age 54)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Boar
- Origin
- San Antonio, Texas, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / musician / television actor / film actor / guitarist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- East Central High School
- University
- Blinn College
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | — |
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.