Henry Thomas, who became famous for his role as young Elliot in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1982, stated that he was not ready for the fame that followed the movie’s success.
Now 54 years old, the actor spoke about the subject in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on the podcast It Happened in Hollywood ahead of the film’s 45th anniversary.
Thomas, who was only 9 years old when he starred in Steven Spielberg’s classic, said he “didn’t handle it very well” when dealing with his sudden fame. “I wasn’t ready for it and never saw it coming,” the actor said during the conversation.
“The first time someone recognized me, it felt bizarre. And then there was this pressure to live up to it. I stayed in Texas for a long time, which, in hindsight, probably helped. I never approached my career strategically. It was always about the experience or the people. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn’t.”
After starring in the 1982 classic, he went on to appear in several other films as a child, including Cloak & Dagger (1984) and Frog Dreaming (1986). More recently, he starred in the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Regarding his lasting success, he said there is no magic formula. “I just kept going. There were periods when things were great and periods when it felt like you couldn’t get arrested. You eventually realize everything is cyclical. You don’t get a rulebook. You just keep showing up.”
Thomas also spoke about working with Spielberg, who did everything to maintain the illusion for the child actors that E.T. was real, even going as far as tricking young Drew Barrymore.
“Drew Barrymore was young enough to actually believe E.T. was real sometimes. She wrapped a scarf around him so he wouldn’t get cold. For me, it was harder. I knew it was a construction. There were several versions of E.T., lots of mechanics, and it could be noisy and disturbing.”
Despite this, he talked about the impact of the film, which became a true cinema classic. “It’s strange because it’s so far behind me now, but it’s also something people have never stopped loving,” he said.
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Photos: Reprodução / Universal Pictures / Creative Commons. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
