> "I wasn't ready for the fame. I had never even thought about being famous," Thomas said Tuesday on The Hollywood Reporter's It Happened in Hollywood podcast.
> E.T. changed a lot in a hurry. Within two weeks of the sci-fi blockbuster's release, Thomas said, his phone started ringing. Before that, agencies wouldn't call him back.
> So how did he handle the shift?
> "Not very well," Thomas said. "I wasn’t ready for it and never saw it coming. The first time someone recognized me, it felt bizarre. And then there was this pressure to follow it up. I stayed in Texas for a long time, which in hindsight probably helped."
8
ZealousWolf1994Mar 25, 2026
+2
He told a story about how he was working at a video store in the 90's and someone recognized him and starting give him a hard time how he used to be famous and now was at a video store.
2
BusyBeeBridgetteMar 25, 2026
+3
Sadly, not many do handle it well. The industry screws them over.
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