Background
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.
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.
He has appeared in over 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott Taylor in Steven Spielberg"s East.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). Among Star Wars fans, he is well known as the narrator of three Star Wars: X-Wing books: Rogue Squadron, Wedge"s Gamble, and The Krytos Trap.
Acting career Aged nine, Thomas had already been in one film, Raggedy Manitoba, when he auditioned for East.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
The film’s success exceeded expectations, and Thomas was troubled by the sometimes extreme reaction of the public. After East.T., Thomas returned to Texas and only occasionally acted (Cloak & Dagger and on television) 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 New York
He is currently both an actor and musician and starred in the 2011 film The Last Ride (2011) as musician Hank Williams Senior In the American Broadcasting Company series Betrayal, he plays T.J. Karsten.