‘E.T.’ star Henry Thomas reflects on child stardom: ‘I wasn't ready for it’

‘E.T.’ star Henry Thomas is reflecting on his childhood stardom as a difficult one. After the release of 1982's E.T., the former child star, who played the role of the alien’s best friend Elliot, suddenly became an overnight success, though Henry now admits that he was not ready for it. Thomas, now 54, said on the ‘It Happened in Hollywood’ podcast, “I wasn’t ready for it. What's weird is I never foresaw it happening. I was surprised when people recognized me for the first time.”In fact, the 54-year-old “never thought about being famous” and found entire situation to be “very bizarre.” Still, he felt the pressure “to continue on, do something better.”It was all the more jarring for Henry because he was living in Texas with his family at the time, which meant that agencies weren’t eager to sign him before he starred in the Steven Spielberg film, since his family wasn’t interested in relocating.Looking at his career now, the Legends of the Fall actor shared, “Most of the time I'm pretty happy about being an actor.” But being in the public eye for so long also meant that Henry had experienced the “roller coaster” of the entertainment industry. “I’ve had moments where everything has been great,” he said, “and I've had moments where it feels like you can't get arrested.”But despite the ups and downs of his career, Henry doesn’t regret any of his choices. He thinks he could have had a different career if he had been more career-minded. But then again, he admits, he wasn't very interested in that.