Henry Thomas In E.T.
At the end of 1982 Henry Thomas was one of the most recognisable child stars - and that was all thanks to his role as Elliott in E.T.
Throughout his acting career he has made over forty movies and yet he never had that breakthrough adult acting role.
The role of Elliott is one of the most iconic of the decade - a lonely boy who befriends an alien and the pair strike up an unbreakable bond.
E.T. was a critical and box office smash and has grossed in excess of $792 million at the global box office.
It remains one of Steven Spielberg's greatest ever films as well as one of the best kid's movies of all time.
E.T. was not Thomas' acting debut as that had come in 1981 with Raggedy Man - which was followed by up TV project The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid.
Throughout the eighties and into the early nineties Thomas balanced acting work with school commitments as he appeared in the likes of Cloak & Dagger and Valmont.
By the mid nineties he was working more regularly and roles in Legends of the Fall, Fever and All the Pretty Horses came his way.
The transition from child actor to adult star was straightforward enough for Thomas but he never had that breakthrough performance that really propelled him onto the A-list.
In more recent year Thomas has appeared in the likes of Without A Trace, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Mentalist.
The role of Tom Wheddon in Dear John has been his biggest movie role but Big Sur is his movie project for 2013.
He is also set to return to television in TV movie betrayal with Stuart Townsend and James Cromwell.
But the role of Elliott in E.T. still remains his greatest acting moment in a movie that is as loved now as it was when it was first released.
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