With just a few credits across different platforms, David Howard Thornton stands out for his exceptional talent in the performing arts. The American actor is known for his performance as Art the Clown in the Terrifier horror film franchise, reprising the role in other projects such as Bupkis (2023). Thornton has built a reputation in the horror genre, earning a nomination for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor among other recognitions.
Beyond the aforementioned, David Howard Thornton also stands out for his voice roles. He has done over 200 impressions and 25 dialects as a voice actor. Thornton began grooming his voice skills as a child, imitating different characters, dialects, and voices. He was so good at the craft that his mother encouraged him to go into acting. His voice credits include films and TV shows like Miss Hokusai (2015), The Exigency (2019), and The Bravest Knight (2019). He has also lent his voice to video game characters in games such as Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom (2013). Read more interesting facts about the Terrifier actor below.
How Old Is David Howard Thornton?
An American national, David Howard Thornton was born in Huntsville, Alabama on November 30, 1979. There is little information about his birth family in the public space, including the names of his parents and any possible siblings he grew up with. However, Thornton has revealed that his mother encouraged him to pursue acting professionally which is just right up his alley.
After high school, David Howard Thornton enrolled in the University of Montevallo where he studied acting. In 2002, he decided to carve a career out of acting and made his move into the performing arts. However, his professional acting career officially took off in 2010 with video games.
David Howard Thornton Began His Acting Career With Voice Roles
Indeed, imitating different characters and dialects is his forte and David Howard Thornton has made the most of it. He launched his acting career as a voice artist on video games, starting with the 2011 Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress as Volran and Tengo. In 2013, Thornton lent his voice to multiple characters in two video games – Ride to Hell: Retribution and Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom.
He went on to launch his film career with a voice role in Miss Hokusai (2015), providing additional voices in the Japanese historical manga series. Other voice roles he has played include Bumbo in The Exigency (2019), Billy Goats / Newt in The Bravest Knight (2019), and SFX Box in Alma’s Way (2021).
David Howard Thornton Was Propelled To Mainstream Fame as Art the Clown
After establishing himself as a talented voice actor, David Howard Thornton landed his career-defining role in Terrifier (2016) as Art the Clown. He reprised the role in Terrifier 2 (2022) and Terrifier 3 (2024). Thornton has also portrayed Art the Clown on TV shows such as Mistress Peace Theatre (2020) and Bupkis (2023). The role set him aside as a horror icon as he played it to rave reviews.
From 2016 to 2017, he portrayed The Joker across six episodes of the web series Nightwing: Escalation. Other notable projects in his resume include past and upcoming projects such as The Mean One (2022), Stream (2024), and Gotham (2017). For his appearance in Terrifier (2016), he won the 2018 Fright Meter Award for Best Actor and scooped a Fangoria Chainsaw Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2019 for the same role.
He May Be Mistaken For Another David Thornton
David Howard Thornton is a different actor from another American actor known as David Farrington Thornton. Born on June 12, 1953, in Cheraw, South Carolina, David Farrington is much older than Thornton and has been in the industry since 1983. However, the similarity in their names often leads to confusion. David Farrington has notably appeared in film and television projects such as Law & Order (1996), Home Alone 3 (1997), John Q, (2002), The Notebook (2004), and The Other Woman (2014).
Also, David Farrington Thornton is married to American singer and actress Cyndi Lauper who has been mistaken on different platforms to be David Howard Thornton’s wife. David Farrington and Lauper have a son, Declyn Wallace Thornton who was born in 1997. Meanwhile, David Howard Thornton has kept details about his love life away from media scrutiny. He mostly uses his verified Instagram account to post about work. As such, it cannot be confirmed if he is married or dating anyone at this time. A recap on David Howard Thornton’s role as Art the Clown in the Terrifier franchise.
