Thomas Dekker (actor)
Thomas Alexander Dekker (born December 28, 1987) is an American actor, musician, singer, director and producer. He is known for his roles as John Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Adam Conant on The Secret Circle, and Zach on Heroes.
Thomas Dekker | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Dekker in 2010 | |
| Born | Thomas Alexander Dekker December 28, 1987 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse |
Jesse Haddock (m. 2017) |
| Relatives | Alun Williams (grandfather) |
Dekker did the voice of Littlefoot in The Land Before Time V-IX (singing voice in The Land Before Time V) and as Fievel Mousekewitz in An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island and An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster. He played Jesse Braun in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Smith in Gregg Araki's film Kaboom. Dekker starred as Gregory Valentine in the TV show Backstrom.
He has also written and produced two albums.
Early life
Dekker was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. His mother, Hilary (née Williams), is a concert pianist, acting coach, actor, and singer from Wales, and his late father, David John Ellis Dekker, was an American artist, set designer, opera singer, and actor[1][2] of English and Dutch ancestry.[3][4][5] His maternal grandfather was Alun Williams, a radio broadcaster for the British Broadcasting Corporation.[6] As a child, he and his parents moved all over the world, including his mother's native United Kingdom and Canada.[7]
Career
Early career
Starting his acting career at age six, Dekker was first seen in the soap The Young and the Restless. He then appeared in Star Trek Generations, two episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and the film Village of the Damned (1995). Dekker also appeared as a child actor on Seinfeld (season 5, episode 16, 1994) and as Bobby (season 7, episode 4, 1995). In 1997, he became a regular on the Disney Channel show Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show which is based on the movie of the same name where he played Nick Szalinski for three years. After the show ended in 2000, he went on to appear in Run of the House, Fillmore!, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, House, Boston Public, Reba and 7th Heaven. He appeared in films such as Campus Confidential and An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster. Dekker has won three Young Artist Awards for his work in The Land Before Time films and one for his guest appearance on Boston Public. In 2001, he played the part of young Donny Osmond in the film Inside the Osmonds.
2006–present
In 2006, Dekker landed a recurring role on Heroes playing the character of Zach (Claire Bennet's best friend). He played Zach for eleven episodes before leaving Heroes to take a starring role in Fox's new show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as John Connor, starring opposite Lena Headey and Summer Glau. That show debuted January 13, 2008 and was canceled on May 18, 2009. Dekker also played the lead character Nate Palmer in the web-based science fiction series IQ-145.[8]
In 2009, Dekker appeared in From Within (filmed in 2007), My Sister's Keeper, a drama in which he starred with Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, Abigail Breslin and Medium star Sofia Vassilieva, and Laid to Rest alongside Lena Headey. In 2010, Dekker starred in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, released on April 30, 2010. His character's name was Jesse Braun, loosely based on the character Rod Lane in the original. That same year he also had a role in All About Evil, an indie horror film.[9]
Dekker starred in Gregg Araki's Kaboom (2010). It is the first film ever awarded the Cannes Film Festival "Queer Palm Award" for its contribution to LGBT presence in cinema. Dekker was a "top candidate" for the lead role in Paramount's remake of Footloose (2011), but the role went to Kenny Wormald.[10] In April 2011, Dekker starred as Lance Loud in the HBO original film Cinema Verite, about the creation of America's first reality television series, An American Family. Dekker played the role of Adam, the male lead on the television series The Secret Circle developed by The CW.[11]
He appeared in Daughtry's music video for their single "Waiting for Superman", which was released September 17, 2013.[12]
Dekker was a regular on the 2015 Fox crime drama Backstrom, playing Gregory Valentine, the gay underworld contact and roommate of Rainn Wilson's title character, revealed to be his half-brother.
Music
Dekker was brought up with a musical background, and started writing music at age ten while living in Canada. At the age of fifteen he landed a record deal; however after feeling that he wasn't as involved in the music as he would have liked, he left to concentrate on making his own music. At the age of sixteen, Dekker started writing and producing his own classical music influenced by electronica which he describes as "electrofolk". His debut album Psyanotic[13] was released in 2008.[14]
Personal life
Dekker has stated that for much of his childhood, he was a victim of sexual molestation.[15] In his teenage years, he was part of a "metalhead" subculture, where he "caused trouble in Las Vegas," and was arrested "five or six times."[15]
Dekker was involved in an auto accident on October 15, 2009, when he hit a 17-year-old cyclist training for a race on a freeway onramp.[16][17] Originally charged with two counts of felony DUI, the charge was reduced to one count of misdemeanor reckless driving when it was found that the cyclist was at fault. He pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to a fine of $300 and two years of informal probation, and ordered to attend a 12-hour alcohol-education class.[18]
Dekker is a vegan.[19][20][21][22]
On April 20, 2011 in an interview with Out magazine Dekker spoke about his sexuality, which had been the subject of speculation:
I've only really had relationships with women, but I'm certainly not closed to it. If there are possibilities of being able to do anything in life, why would you say you would never take any up? In the later chunk of my teen years I was so all over the place with sex. It was terrible. I never really had a real relationship at all. During puberty, it's all about sex, and it's all about figuring yourself out. I think I overdid it when I was younger.[23]
On July 13, 2017, Dekker came out as gay and revealed that he married Canadian actor Jesse Haddock in April that year.[24][25][26]
Awards
- Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series — Leading Young Actor (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show) (1997)
- Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a Voice-Over: TV/Film/Video — Young Actor (An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster) (1999)
- Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a TV Series — Guest Starring Young Actor (Boston Public) (2000)
- Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role (The Land Before Time IX: Journey to the Big Water) (2002)
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Young and the Restless | Phillip Chancellor IV #4 | |
| 1994 | The Nanny | J.B. Bingington's Son | Episode 1.12: "The Show Must Go On" |
| 1994–1995 | Seinfeld | Porter / Son Bobby | Episode 5.16: "The Stand In" Episode 7.04: "The Wink" |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Voyager | Henry Burleigh | Episode 1.16: "Learning Curve" Episode 2.08: "Persistence of Vision" |
| 1996 | Caroline in the City | Young Richard | Episode 2.09: "Caroline and the Therapist" |
| 1997 | The Weird Al Show | Son | Episode 1.04: "Back to School" |
| Men in Black: The Series | Timmy (voice) | Episode 1.02: "The Buzzard Syndrome" | |
| Extreme Ghostbusters | Kevin Rivera (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 1997–2000 | Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show | Nick Szalinski | Main cast (Seasons 1–3; 1997–2000) |
| 2000-2003 | Scruff | Scruff | Main Role |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Dennis | Episode 7.03: "The Invitation" |
| Grosse Pointe | Leslie Bicks | Episode 1.09: "Boys on the Side" | |
| 2001 | Inside the Osmonds | Donny Osmond (younger) | Television film |
| Family Guy | Student (voice) | Episode 3.01: "The Thin White Line" | |
| 2001–2003 | Jackie Chan Adventures | Little Valmont / Young Valmont (voice) | Episode 2.01: "Through the Rabbit Hole" Episode 3.11: "Little Valmont, Big Jade" |
| 2002 | The Mummy | Simon Montgomery (voice) | Episode 1.12: "The Puzzle |
| Family Affair | Jeremy | Episode 1.07: "No Small Parts" | |
| 2003 | Run of the House | Seth | Episode 1.03: "The Party" |
| Fillmore! | Crockett, Biggie, James Heron (voices) | Episode 2.04: "South of Friendship, North of Honor" Episode 2.06: "The Nineteenth Hole Is A Shallow Grave" Episode 2.07: "Links in a Chain of Honor" | |
| Boston Public | Julien McNeal | Episode 4.06: "Chapter Seventy-Two" Episode 4.08: "Chapter Seventy-Four" | |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Jimmy Jones | Episode 5.03: "Harvest" |
| 2005 | 7th Heaven | Vincent | 9 episodes |
| Campus Confidential | Brett | Television film | |
| Reba | Buzzer | Episode 5.10: "Issues" | |
| 2006 | House | Boyd | Episode 2.19: "House vs. God" |
| Shark | Ben Channing | Episode 1.08: "Love Triangle" | |
| 2006–2007 | Heroes | Zach | 12 episodes |
| 2008 | Psi-Kix | Jacque | Voice only |
| IQ-145 | Nate Palmer | 10 episodes | |
| 2008–2009 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | John Connor | Main cast (Seasons 1–2; 2008–2009) |
| 2009 | Glenn Martin, DDS | Unknown role (voice) | Episode 1.07: "From Here to Fraternity" |
| 2011 | Elvira's Movie Macabre | Elrick / Jack Shemansky | Episode 1.15: "Lady Frankenstein" |
| Cinema Verite | Lance Loud | ||
| 2011–2012 | The Secret Circle | Adam Conant | Main cast |
| 2015 | Backstrom | Gregory Valentine | Main role |
| 2022 | The Rookie: Feds | Jeffrey Boyle | Recurring role |
| The Rookie | |||
| Swimming with Sharks | Travis | ||
| 2023 | Star Trek: Picard | Titus Rikka | Episode 3.03: "Seventeen Seconds" |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Waiting for Superman" | The Hero | Main role |
Discography
Albums
- Psyanotic (2008)
- Into the Night (2018)
- Tasma (2021)
Soundtracks
- From The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island:
- 1997: "Friends for Dinner", "Always There", "Big Water"
- From An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island:
- 1998: "Anywhere in Your Dreams"
- From The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock:
- 1998: "Bad Luck", "The Legend of the Lone Dinosaur", "On Your Own"
- From An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster:
- 1999: "Get the Facts", "Who Will"
- From The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire:
- 2000: "Beyond the Mysterious Beyond", "Good Inside"
- From The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze:
- 2001: "Family", "The Lesson"
- From The Land Before Time IX: Journey to the Big Water:
- 2002: "Imaginary Friends", "No One Has to Be Alone", "Chanson D'Ennui", "Big Water"
- From 7th Heaven:
- From the episode Red Socks
- 2005: "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"
- 2008: "From Within"
References
- "Obituaries | LexisNexis | Professional Journal archives from". AllBusiness.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "Henderson resident Thomas Dekker expands TV credits with role on witchy 'Secret Circle' - Living - ReviewJournal.com". Lvrj.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- Barker, Lynn (2008-01-08). "Thomas Dekker: Saving the Future". TeenTelevision.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "Thomas Dekker Biography (1987-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "Thomas Dekker". IMDb.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "The Many Shades of Thomas Dekker | Out Magazine". Out.com. 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "home". Iq-145thewebseries.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-29. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "Thomas Dekker is All About Evil | Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central". Dreadcentral.com. 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "Will 'Footloose' hit the Dekker? - latimes.com". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "Thomas Dekker in Secret Circle, Titus Welliver in Awakening - CW Pilots". Bscreview.com. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- daughtryVEVO (24 October 2013). "Daughtry - Waiting for Superman". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15 – via YouTube.
- "Zero Times Zero featuring Thomas Dekker at The Viper Room". 12 April 2012.
- "Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from MTV". www.mtv.com.
- "SCENE + HEARD: Thomas Dekker Talks Sex, Nudity, Molestation at "Kaboom" Premiere Party". Next Magazine. 2011-01-28. Archived from the original on 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- "'Terminator's Dekker charged over run-in - Showbiz News". Digital Spy. 2009-11-04. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- "'Terminator' star Thomas Dekker charged with DUI". azcentral.com. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- "Thomas Dekker Sentenced To Two Years Probation". Starpulse.com. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- Miller, Gerri (2010-09-30). "Ecollywood: Celebs celebrate PETA's 30th anniversary". MNN Holdings, LLC. Archived from the original on 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
- DuDell, Michael (2009-03-06). "The Green Quote: Terminator Star Thomas Dekker Is A Longtime VEG!". Ecorazzi, LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
- "Thomas Dekker Terminated Meat Chronicles At 12". Vegetarian Star. 2009-03-06. Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
- Harradine, Gabrielle (March 2009). "ONE-MAN BAND". Vegetarian Times. Cruz Bay Publishing (366): 22.
- "The Many Shades of Thomas Dekker". Out.com. 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- Dekker, Thomas (2017-07-13). "PLEASE READ pic.twitter.com/Uo5hM94Qp5". @theThomasDekker. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
- Mizoguchi, Karen (2017-07-13). "Heroes Alum Thomas Dekker Reveals He's Gay After He Says a 'Prominent Gay Man' Tried to Out Him". People. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
- Calvario, Liz (2017-09-22). "Thomas Dekker Shares Sweet Pics of Him and Husband Jesse on Their Wedding Day". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
External links
