Richard Thomas (actor)

Richard Earl Thomas (born June 13, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as budding author "John-Boy" Walton on the CBS historical drama series The Waltons (1972–1977), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, in addition to two Golden Globe Award nominations. Thomas later starred as Bill Denbrough in the television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's It (1990), played Special Agent Frank Gaad on FX's spy thriller series The Americans (2013–2016), and appeared as Nathan Davis on the Netflix crime drama series Ozark (2022). On stage, Thomas portrayed Atticus Finch in the 2022–2024 national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work as Elliot Emerson in The Balusters (Broadway, 2026). His feature film credits include Last Summer (1969), You'll Like My Mother (1972), Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and Wonder Boys (2000).