Henry Jackson Thomas, Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in more than 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Thomas was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Carolyn L. (née Davis), a homemaker, and Henry Jackson Thomas, a hydraulic machinist. In San Antonio he attended East Central High School, in the ECISD district, and Blinn College in Brenham, Texas.
Thomas' first marriage to Kelly Hill ended in divorce. He married Marie Zielcke in May 2004. They have a daughter, Hazel. The couple are currently separated.
After E.T., Thomas returned to Texas, acting in film and on TV from time to time while attending school and generally leading the life of a regular child.
Short after his appearance in E.T., Thomas also made some appearances in commercials for the Intellivision console by Mattel, alongside George Plimpton, whom he always referred as "Mr. Intellivision". In all these commercials, Plimpton always asked what Thomas's name is, but is never mentioned. According to Intellivision Products, Inc., Atari threatened to sue Mattel if Thomas was identified in the commercials, since Atari was securing at that time the rights for the Atari 2600 E.T. video game.
Thomas returned to film in the late 1980s and early 1990s and began to prove himself in adult roles. His most prominent adult role to date was as Samuel Ludlow in 1994's Legends of the Fall. He is currently both an actor and musician, and performs with the band The Blueheelers.
