Movie critic Bruce Miller sits down to talk with Henry Thomas about his role in “Crawlspace.”
Henry Thomas didn’t have a problem acting alone in the new film, “Crawlspace.”
“Early on in my career, I had a big foray into that with a little movie called ‘E.T.,’” he says with a smile.
When he had to react – this time as a plumber checking the pipes under a home – he would imagine who was making the sounds above him. While co-stars often delivered their lines off-camera, Thomas had to draw on those skills that made him a star 40 years ago.
Much of the success of “E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial” hinged on the way director Steven Spielberg dealt with his actors. Nine-year-old Henry liked to explore. He could imagine an alien standing across from him and he knew how to react. Playing a game of make-believe worked.
“We’re sort of magicians in a way,” Thomas explains. “We go away and we create this thing and then we come back and show it to everybody and just kind of waits…and it’s fun. It’s always been sort of mysterious and cool to me.”
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Cast as E.T.’s friend Elliott, Thomas achieved a level of celebrity few actors get. He won awards, was pitched a variety of roles and wanted to keep acting.
“I feel like I’m always trying to explore and grow as an actor. I think I was doing that as a kid. I’ve always done that. So it’s fun to watch me when I was a kid – just for perspective.”
As a child, “I don’t know if I thought I would ever be as old as I am,” the 50-year-old father of three says. “I thought 30 was really old, but I didn’t picture myself where I am, for sure. I think I thought I would be much more successful than I am. But I also think I would be retired at this point, you know?”
In recent years, Thomas has worked consistently with Mike Flanagan, the director of “Crawlspace.”
“We’ve done eight projects together now – which is crazy – and I’ve never had a working relationship with anybody like this. It gives you a sense of security, in that you know somebody’s a fan of yours and he’s going to hire you on his next project.”
“Crawlspace” taps into a lot of emotions and lets Thomas imagine what he might do in a similar situation. The plumber comes across a bag of money. Those looking for it discover he has it. They try to get him to give it them, but he knows they could just as easily kill him. A cat-and-mouse game ensues and, soon, Thomas’ character has to deal with all sorts of injuries.
“I tried to keep track of all the injuries but one of them we ended up not having time to cover, so it wasn’t included. So I have a fake injury that never made it in the picture.”
Claustrophobia? That’s real. “I’m not good with tight spaces,” Thomas says. “And it was a concern going into this, actually, but (the crawlspace) was built on a set on a stage for the most part. It was easy to get in and out of but it was claustrophobic. After the second week, I was ready to be done.”
The set, he says, was “terribly believable.” He could hear those above him and, yes, the actors did stick around to fuel his reactions.
Surprisingly, “Crawlspace” features a good bit of humor. “The torment is really kind of fun to see,” Thomas says. “I know that sounds terrible, but I enjoyed that aspect of it.”
Watching himself on screen – then and now – reminds him of the actor he was and the actor he is. “I don’t watch it,” he says of “E.T.” “The easiest way to explain it is ‘other people watch it for me.’” He sees how it affects them.
Next, Thomas would like to do some smaller films or even European films – “serious work that’s not in the genres I’ve been working in.
“It’s easy to lose interest in acting when you see a lot of the material. But it’s also important to have a commercially viable film that will help you get work.”
Like other former child stars, Thomas has cautioned his children against going into the business. “I have one that may,” he admits, “because she’s never listened to me.”
A career like dad’s? That wouldn’t be bad.
"Crawlspace" is now available in the digital format.
