At just nine years old, Henry Thomas became a star thanks to his role as the young and inquisitive Elliott Taylor in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. In the more than four decades since first walking into Hollywood, the actor has never looked back and has only continued to rack up an impressive list of credits to his name. These days, he’s a staple in Mike Flanagan’s so-called Flanaverse, where he has appeared in several of the celebrated horror director’s projects, including Midnight Mass, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Haunting of Hill House. But, with scores of titles under his belt, there simply must be a few that Thomas views as sleeper hits, right? That’s precisely what Collider’s Maggie Lovitt was out to uncover over the weekend when she hosted a Flanaverse panel at Awesome Con.
There, Thomas took the stage alongside two other members of the Flanafam, Carla Gugino (The Fall of the House of Usher) and Katie Parker (Absentia), where the trio answered everything we’d always wanted to know about what it’s like to be with the modern-day troupe of actors. Bringing up Thomas’ lengthy filmography, Lovitt asked the actor what projects he’d like to see get more chat time. At the top of the list is an indisputable classic that not only saw Thomas in a starring role, but also performances from the likes of Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins.
“It’s funny because when I think back on films that were important to me and my career, probably two come to mind really quickly,” Thomas said. “The biggest one is Legends of the Fall.” Helmed by Edward Zwick, the historical drama first galloped into cinemas in 1994 and showcased the struggle of a family living in the Montana wilderness in the early 20th century. Boasting three Academy Award nominations and one win, the movie is an absolute classic that any Western buff needs to have seen at least once. For Thomas, the film marked the much-needed end of an era, as he explained:
“I was 21 and I really was having a hard time getting past people thinking of me as a ten-year-old every time they saw my name anywhere. So Legends of the Fall was a big deal for me because it kind of put me in young adult roles and in a lot of people’s minds and in Hollywood where I needed them to think of me as a young adult so I could get more parts.”
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Henry Thomas Names the Other Favorites From His Repertoire
We simply can’t believe that folks aren’t talking to Thomas about Legends of the Fall, but even classics must fall by the wayside when your career also includes one of the greatest alien movies known to man, Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, and Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep. Of the other sets he’s been a part of, there are two more that the actor says were standout experiences, telling the crowd at Awesome Con:
“Before that, I did a film when I was 17 with, I think, the best director around, Miloš Forman, who directed me in a film called Valmont. Those were probably two of the big ones. The other one is All the Pretty Horses, which suffered from Miramax and Harvey Weinstein‘s editing proclivities. But other than that, it was a great experience.”
Stay tuned to Collider for more to come from Awesome Con.
