He shot to stardom with his leading role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
And 36 years on from his iconic role as Elliott, who befriends the alien, Henry Thomas appeared on Lorraine to discuss growing up in the spotlight and why he had to take a break from Hollywood.
Speaking on Monday’s episode of the ITV show, the 47-year-old actor admitted he had never imagined just how well the Steven Spielberg film would do after landing the big role at the age of eight.
Reflecting: 36 years on from his iconic role as Elliott in E.T Henry Thomas appeared on Lorraine to discuss growing up in the spotlight and why he had to take a break from Hollywood
The 1982 science fiction film broke box office records, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time – a record it held for eleven years until Jurassic Park was released in 1993.
Discussing the immediate fame and fortune that was bestowed upon him, Henry said: ‘I had youth on my side. I had no idea how huge it would be.
‘I don’t think anyone had any idea. It wasn’t until it’d been out a few weeks and there were queues around the cinema and it became a sensation.
‘My phone kept ringing. All the agents who had turned me down! They said they don’t care if you live in Texas, you don’t have to live in Hollywood.’
Throwback: Henry shot to stardom with his leading role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which broke box office records to become the highest grossing film of the 80s
Revealing that his parents were determined he didn’t fall foul to the child star curse, he explained why it became important to take some time out from the industry.
‘Taking a step back was mostly voluntary but the overwhelming fame scared the hell out of my parents,’ he explained. ‘My mother who was used to a rural life and she wasn’t a fan of packing up and coming away from me.’
Henry, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in E.T, now has children of his own, yet admitted they aren’t fazed by their father’s superstar past.
Blown away: Speaking on Monday’s episode of the ITV show, the 47-year-old actor admitted he had never imagined just how well the Steven Spielberg film would do after landing the big role
Taking a break: Revealing that his parents were determined he didn’t fall foul to the child star curse, he explained why it became important to take some time out from the industry
Discussing the first time he showed them E.T, Henry confessed: ‘This is kind of sad, but I had kind of set it up as a big reveal as they hadn’t seen the film and I thought I’d introduce them to ET and they wouldn’t know it was me.
‘And when it started I said “do you recognise that kid there?” But my daughter who’s eight was like, “yes, dad that’s you. We know it’s you. We’ve seen the previews on another DVD, this is the film you did.”
‘And my face dropped and that was it, and I went to the kitchen to make them some snacks.’
His worldwide fame hasn’t gone down in such a blase way with his new co-stars, however, as he discussed the child actors he stars alongside in Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House.
‘They all knew my history, knew the film, so it’s a bit of a responsibility as you feel like the oldest boy scout,’ he admitted. ‘But these kids are so professional and so talented. I don’t know if I could make it today as a child actor.’
Iconic: The 1982 science fiction film surpassed Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time – a record it held for eleven years until Jurassic Park was released in 1993