Thomas stole America’s heart with his sensitive portrayal of John-Boy, the pivotal character on the The Waltons, a role that won him a Best Actor Emmy and catapulted him into the spotlight at twenty. The beloved CBS series about a poor family struggling to survive the depression in the Blue Ridge Mountains broke new ground for family television. Thomas also won a Motion Picture and TV/Radio Daily award as the most promising new star of the 1973 season.

Thomas’ roles include his CableAce nominated performance in the USA Network film Linda, and a starring role in The Christmas Box with Maureen O’Hara. He co- produced and starred in What Love Sees and Living Proof: The Hank Williams Story. Other early work includes television productions of The Red Badge of Courage, Alex Haley’s Roots: The Next Generation and HBO’s Glory! Glory! His over forty acclaimed television movies include Beyond The Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls, three Walton reunions (A Walton Thanksgiving, A Walton Wedding and A Walton Easter), Stephen King’s It and Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus. Guest star roles include The Practice, Touched By An Angel and Promised Land. Thomas starred in the series The Adventures of the Swiss Family Robinson and PAX-TV’s It’s A Miracle and Just Cause.

Stage credits include Hamlet, Richard II and Richard III (produced by the Stratford Shakespeare Theatre at Connecticut’s Hartford Stage). An early career performance of Peer Gynt on the Hartford stage prompted a New York Times reviewer to write, “His flawless performance in this most challenging role further validates his position as one of America's leading classical actors.”

Thomas has appeared on the Broadway stage, at Hartford Stage, New York’s Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and other world- renowned houses. Theatrical highlights include the acclaimed Los Angeles productions of Measure For Measure and A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Sir Peter Hall in rep at the Ahmanson; the New York world premiere of Steve Tesich’s Square One with Dianne Wiest, Tiny Alice and the West Coast premiere of Terrence McNally’s The Lisbon Traviata with Nathan Lane. He completed a four month run on the London stage in the West End production of Art, and on film, co-starred in Paramount Picture’s critically- acclaimed release, Wonder Boys.

Thomas made his television directorial debut helming several episodes of the Waltons, and his stage directorial debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with The Red Badge of Courage. He has published two volumes of his poetry with Avon Books and a third with Kenward Elmslie’s Z Press. The actor lectures at universities on behalf of the Kennedy Center’s Educational Program, serves as the National Chairman of the Better Hearing Institute and on the board of The Morris Animal Foundation. Honored with a doctor of fine arts from the University of South Carolina, he was further honored by serving as the host of the University’s Ecumenical Service of the Family and introducing His Holiness Pope John Paul II.