Henry Thomas audition för E.T. "Ok kid, you got the job"

Felt like I had to share, anyone who is anyone who grew up watching E.T or said "phone home" a million times would love this. What an incredible audition, who would ever consider not giving him the part after pulling off a moment like that, so adorable!!



I almost forgot it was an audition he was so damn convincing!

Whoa! Blast from the past. As a child of the 80s, this movie will always hold a special place in my heart, right along with The Goonies and The Lost Boys.

That kid did an awesome job on his audition and was perfect in his role in the movie. Thanks so much for sharing! S&F

~OkieDokie

reply to post by OkieDokie


Oh my goodness, the goonies, one of my faves

I think E.T would have been totally different without this kid, he was definitely the little brother I always wanted!

reply to post by WeBrooklyn

He wasn't that good. He cried, sure, but that's the extent of it. They really took a chance on giving him the job on the strength of this alone (maybe he was a finalist after viewing prior acting roles). Not as impressed as I thought I would be. Now Vivian Leigh's audition for "Gone With the Wind", there was an audition!

The little bit I saw of her audition was ok. But she is alot older, and more mature than Henry Thomas at the time of the audition. Thats why I was so impressed by him, he was so young and his audition was damn near perfect. He was born for that role.

reply to post by WeBrooklyn


I have to agree with you. The first time I saw this audition I got all choked up. He really owned the part, didn't he???

reply to post by Aleister


Do you know how hard it is to just cry on the spot? Unless you're already prepared to do so, you've already given yourself the ammo needed to make yourself cry, it can be really hard...
To pull real tears, not just a watery eye, but real rolling tears, out of the bag like that and implement them immediately, it's not very easy.
Maybe it's easier for him, cuz he's a kid, I dunno, but I've been acting since I was 5 years old, and I know I can't do it off the bat like that. I need to think about all sorts of sad things first.

Wow, when I saw the tears coming, my heart just broke. What a kid. Shame he didn't have as much success after this. But then again, not a lot of child actors do.

reply to post by WeBrooklyn


WOW! The kid's got mad skills!

I bet his parent's were duped many of times for Ice cream & toys!

Originally posted by WeBrooklyn
The little bit I saw of her audition was ok. But she is alot older, and more mature than Henry Thomas at the time of the audition. Thats why I was so impressed by him, he was so young and his audition was damn near perfect. He was born for that role.

Each of those tears was worth their weight in gold (well, I guess that wouldn't be very much gold). But I betcha Spielberg had more film of the kid, had already checked him out, and had to do the screen test as a formality. Or maybe Spielberg knew that since he could cry so well on command that he could work with him. It turned out fine, of course, and "El-li-ot" is a classic character. Just thought - they should do a sequel, with the same actors. Drew Barrymore would be perfect as an adult meeting ET again!

Wow, when I saw the tears coming, my heart just broke. What a kid. Shame he didn't have as much success after this. But then again, not a lot of child actors do.

reply to post by athousandlives


You made me want to take a look at his IMDb page.....he's actually had steady work throughout the years...although I doubt none as powerful as E.T

I have to agree with you. The first time I saw this audition I got all choked up. He really owned the part, didn't he???

reply to post by Caterminator


So did I!

One of the best child auditions Ive ever come across, that kid was a special one!

How many people remember that Elliot's brother and his bro's friends were playing Dungeons & Dragons (though I think they called it Monsters & Mazes) when Elliot first saw ET?

reply to post by WeBrooklyn


One thing Spielberg excelled at was the ability to identify young talent.