Thomas shot to fame as Elliott in Steven Spielberg’s 1981 hit. Now a father himself, he talks about why he almost quit acting, being recognised and whether he’d let his kids act
If you’re ever in need of wonder or a cathartic cry, or perhaps want to feel a little humbled, go watch Henry Thomas’s audition for ET. Just nine years old, he sits attentively, his little mousey face keen as an adult explains the improvised scene. “They’ve come with a search warrant and they want to take the creature away,” the man rattles off at a breakneck speed, and then action! In less than a minute, hot tears are rolling down Thomas’ face, for an alien puppet he hasn’t even seen. (Later, he’d reveal he was thinking of his dead dog.) “You can’t take him away, he’s mine,” Thomas says, bottom lip wobbling. “I don’t care what the president says, he’s my best friend and you can’t take him away.”
The people in the room at the time have said they all began to cry too; you can hear a tinge of genuine alarm, and awe, in Steven Spielberg’s voice when he says, off-camera, “OK kid, you got the job.”
