You may know Richard Thomas from his iconic leading role as John-Boy Walton in the hit TV drama, The Waltons, which earned the actor a well-deserved Emmy and multiple Golden Globe award nominations.
For those following Thomas’s work closely, he was recently cast to portray the lawyer and major character Atticus Finch in the national touring production of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which ran from May 2022 to May 2024.
If you’ve been reading up on the classic American literature’s stage adaptation cast behind the curtain, here’s everything to know about Richard Thomas before fame and his rise to stardom.
Richard Thomas Before Fame
For many pop culture fans, Richard Thomas will always be the beloved aspiring author, John-Boy Walton. Thomas’s performance was simply so compelling it etched an indelible mark on the audience’s memories.
As an actor, it’s par for the course for some people to see you as nothing more than the characters you play. However, his life and career are more colorful than what many fans of the 73-year-old actor may realize.
Early Life
Thomas was born in New York City in June 1951. He grew up in a family that loved the performing arts. His parents were the founders of the New York School of Ballet.
As a kid, he would accompany and watch his parents perform all the time. Interestingly, Spanish became Thomas’ first language because his parents were dancing in Alicia Alonzo’s ballet company in Havana when he was a baby.
“My parents were ballet dancers,” Thomas said in one interview. “I was raised backstage in the world of ballet. They danced for many companies, including Balanchine’s, when I was little. And so the theatre was my world.”
Image source: Google
Thomas had his first stint as a stage actor at the early age of seven. Encouraged by his first-grade teacher, he auditioned and was cast for the Broadway play, Sunrise at Campobello in 1958. From there, his lifelong journey of performing on stage began.
“My first-grade teacher happened to be a children’s agent. So she said, ‘Do you want to come in and audition for this?’ I did and I got the part. That was the beginning of it.”
Fueled by his love for the craft, he attended Columbia College, majoring in literature. Later, he switched his major to Chinese, frustrated by the anti-war demonstrations at the time, which interrupted his education per IMDB.
After college, Thomas immediately pursued to further his acting career full-time.
How Richard Thomas Came to Fame
Thomas’ breakthrough came quickly, which is quite expected for someone with extraordinary talent both on stage and on screen.
At 21, he landed the leading role in the long-running 1972 drama series, The Waltons. The show was set during the Great Depression and centered around a family in the mountainous parts of West Virginia.
Richard Thomas as John-Boy Walton
The audience received Thomas’ portrayal of John Boy with genuine affection. After a few episodes, the aspiring journalist from rural Virginia would become one of the most beloved and memorable characters.
With Thomas as the narrator and central figure of the show, The Waltons became a cultural phenomenon, praised for its phenomenal depiction of familial love amidst economic struggles.
Image source: IMDb
Thomas, for his part, was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe awards. His performance was so genuine and compelling that it would haunt him even until today, several decades after the show.
At curtain calls in his recent stage works, people would yell “Good night, John Boy,” in part to tease, but mostly to appreciate Thomas’ contribution to the beloved historical TV show.
“It’s a wonderful thing…to have a character that is so vivid in people’s minds that they think he’s real, that they think that’s who you are,” Thomas admitted to Q’s Tom Power.
Richard Thomas in Ozark, The Americans, and Billions
Image source: IMDb
After departing from The Waltons, Thomas has had numerous successful roles on television and in films. Still, for someone who grew up backstage in a theatre, you’ll find most of his oeuvre on stage.
Some of his most famous stage works include Robert Schenkkan’s The Great Society, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, and Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s You Can’t Take It With You.
For contemporary audiences, you may be more familiar with Thomas in his role as Nathan Davis in the TV show, Ozark, Sanford Bensinger in Billions, and Frank Gaad in the drama series, The Americans.
Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch
Image source: Google
Another massive and recent milestone for the veteran actor was playing America’s most popular Depression-era lawyer, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.
For two years (2022 to 2024), Thomas toured the country as a character he admitted to having always wanted to play on stage.
“I was in school, I don’t remember if it was middle school or high school, one or the other, but I remember I loved it [To Kill a Mockingbird]. It was very moving and compelling for a young person,” the veteran actor told Fort Worth Magazine.
Final Thoughts
“I’m sure the name John-Boy will be on my tombstone,” Thomas jokingly said in one interview. But I’m fairly sure most of his fans would agree that his work has also left a lasting impression on everyone who’s witnessed the man on stage.
Rare are the actors who can do that. So, here’s to hoping to watch Richard Thomas on stage for several years more!
Featured image source: Google