David Howard Thornton

David Howard Thornton (born November 30, 1979)^[1] is an American actor. He is known for his role as Art the Clown from the Terrifier franchise, a role in which he appeared in Terrifier (2016), Mistress Peace Theatre (2020), Terrifier 2 (2022) and Bupkis (2023) and is set to reprise in Terrifier 3 (2024). He has had other various roles in film, television and video games, including Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress (2011), Ride to Hell: Retribution (2013), Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom (2013), Gotham (2017), The Bravest Knight (2019), The Exigency (2019), Alma's Way (2021) and starring as the Mean One in The Mean One (2022).

David Howard Thornton
Thornton in 2023
Born	David Howard Thornton (1979-11-30) November 30, 1979 (age 44) Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2010–present
Known for	Art the Clown

Career

Thornton has lent his voice to various characters in film, anime, television and in video games. In 2011, he voiced Malvic, Volran and Tengo in Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress. He later provided voices in 2013 as Anvil, Dr. Blotter and Baggy Miner in Ride to Hell: Retribution and as Shizoku, Metal Mutt and Toxitoad in Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom.^[2] In 2015, he provided additional voices for Miss Hokusai.^[2][3] From 2016 to 2017, he appeared as the Joker in the fan-made webseries Nightwing: Escalation and later went on to appear in Gotham, both projects that included characters by DC Comics.^[2]

In 2016, Thornton portrayed Art the Clown in Terrifier, a film that became a cult classic and for which he was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor and was the first feature-length appearance of the character in the Terrifier franchise.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} In 2022, Thornton reprised the role of Art the Clown in Terrifier 2. Terrifier 2 was well received by critics and a hit at the box office, grossing more than $15 million on a $250,000 budget.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]} Also in 2022, Thornton starred as the Mean One, a horror retelling of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, in The Mean One.^{[17][18][19][20][21]}

Thornton reprised the role of Art the Clown in the 2023 Peacock series, Bupkis,^[22][23] with the character also set to return in Terrifier 3.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} He appeared as Player 2 in the 2024 film, Stream.^[29][30][31] He is set to appear as Shark Bait Zombie in the upcoming film, Night of the Living Dead II.^[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference(s)
2015	Miss Hokusai	Additional Voices	Voice	[2][3]
2016	Terrifier	Art the Clown		[2][32][33]
2019	The Exigency	Bumbo	Voice	[2][33]
2021	The Dark Offerings	Tim Cobb		[2][33]
2022	Terrifier 2	Art the Clown		[2][32][33]
	The Mean One	The Mean One		[32][33]
2024	Stream	Player 2		[2][29][30][31][32]
	Terrifier 3	Art the Clown		[28][34]
2025	Screamboat	Steamboat Willie		[35][36]
TBA	Night of the Living Dead II	Shark Bait Zombie		[2][37]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference(s)
2017	Gotham	Orderly	Episode: "A Dark Knight: The Blade's Path"	[2]
2019	The Bravest Knight	Billy Goats / Newt	2 episodes Voice	[2]
2020	Mistress Peace Theatre	Art the Clown / Himself	Episode: "Hallowday Special II"
2021	Alma's Way	SFX Box	Episode: "No-Go Mofongo/Alma vs. Eddie" Voice	[2][3]
2023	Bupkis	Art the Clown	Episode: "Show Me the Way"	[22][23][33]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference(s)
2016–2017	Nightwing: Escalation	The Joker	6 episodes	[2][33]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference(s)
2011	Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress	Malvic / Volran / Tengo	Voice	[2]
2013	Ride to Hell: Retribution	Anvil / Dr. Blotter / Baggy Miner	Voice	[3]
	Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom	Shizoku / Metal Mutt / Toxitoad	Voice	[2]

Music videos

Year	Band/Song	Role	Notes	Reference(s)
2024	Ice Nine Kills – "A Work of Art"	Art the Clown		[38]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Reference
2019	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Terrifier	Nominated	[4]

References

1. "Famous actors from Alabama". NEWS19. March 4, 2022. David Howard Thornton– Born: Huntsville, Alabama (11/30/1979)
2. Armitage, Helen (December 26, 2021). "David Howard Thornton Movie & TV Roles: Where You Know The Terrifier Star". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
3. "David Howard Thornton". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved April 14, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
4. Barkan, Jonathan (January 22, 2019). "Fangoria Resurrects the Chainsaw Awards and Dread Central Presents' TERRIFIER Snagged Three Nominations!". Dread Central. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
5. Miska, Brad (September 1, 2022). "'Terrifier' – Original Cult Classic Slasher Is Now Streaming on SCREAMBOX!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
6. Wiseman, Andreas (June 30, 2022). "Genre Streamer Screambox & Bloody Disgusting Acquire "Ultra Gory" Slasher Movie 'Terrifier 2'". Deadline. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
7. Donato, Matt (September 23, 2022). "Terrifier 2 Review". IGN. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
8. Jackson, Matthew (October 4, 2022). "Terrifier 2 Basks in the Glory of Its Own Overkill". Paste. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
9. Collis, Clark (October 14, 2022). "Terrifier 2 director reacts to reports that horror sequel is making people throw up and faint". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
10. Tinnin, Drew (October 28, 2022). "Director Damien Leone Regrets How Terrifier Treated One Of Its Central Characters". /Film. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
11. "Terrifier 2 (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
12. "Terrifier 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
13. Miska, Brad (October 6, 2022). "Photos from the 'Terrifier 2' Red Carpet Premiere in New York City!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
14. Sharf, Zack (October 18, 2022). "'Terrifier 2' Is Making Moviegoers Vomit and Pass Out, but Its Director Says: 'I Don't Want People Getting Hurt. It's Surreal'". Variety. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
15. Pallotta, Frank (October 31, 2022). "Why horror films kill at the box office all year round". CNN. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
16. Bilodeau, Matthew (November 7, 2022). "Terrifier 2 Was Just As Brutal To Film As It Was To Watch". /Film. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
17. Waltz, Amanda (March 2, 2023). "Terrifier star David Howard Thornton talks killer clowns and horror conventions". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
18. Squires, John (October 7, 2022). "'The Mean One' – XYZ Films Releasing 'Grinch' Slasher Movie Spoof This December". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
19. Wiseman, Andreas (October 7, 2022). "XYZ Plans Free Release For Horror Pic 'The Mean One' With 'Terrifier 2' Star David Howard Thornton". Deadline. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
20. Collis, Clark (November 28, 2022). "Don't be a Grinch! Watch the trailer for parody-horror film The Mean One". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
21. Collis, Clark (December 7, 2022). "The Mean One director teases 'nuts' sequel idea and collaboration with Terrifier producers". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
22. Squires, John (April 13, 2023). "Art the Clown from 'Terrifier' Appears in New Pete Davidson Series "Bupkis"?! [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
23. Staff, Staten Island Advance (April 14, 2023). "Pete Davidson debuts new 'Bupkis' trailer; one guest star is a real 'Terrifier'". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
24. Fleetwood, Cullen (April 9, 2019). "[Interview] David Howard Thornton Teases 'Terrifier 2' and Says Script for 'Terrifier 3' is Already Underway". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
25. Jacobs, Eammon (February 2, 2023). "'Terrifier' director Damien Leone teases 'Terrifier 3' and a potential 4th film, and says he's met with 'Evil Dead' director Sam Raimi about a new project". Insider. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
26. Bilodeau, Matthew (February 3, 2023). "Damien Leone Is Writing Terrifier 3, And Then Hopes To Work With Sam Raimi". /Film. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
27. Wiseman, Andreas (May 31, 2023). "'Terrifier 3': Details Revealed For Bigger Budget Threequel After Second Film's Box Office Breakout". Deadline. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
28. Miska, Brad (May 31, 2023). "'Terrifier 3' Is Officially Happening and Will Continue to Push Boundaries!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
29. Miska, Brad (December 5, 2022). "'Stream' – Guitarist Paul Wiley to Score New Horror Movie from the Producers of 'Terrifier'! [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
30. Squires, John (July 27, 2022). "'Stream' – Fresh Look at New Horror Movie from the Producers of 'Terrifier' [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
31. Miska, Brad (June 2, 2023). "'Stream' Poster Puts Skin In the Game!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
32. TV Guide. "David Howard Thornton List of Movies and TV Shows - TV Guide". TV Guide. Archived from the original on August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
33. Cusson, Kate (May 30, 2023). "Best David Howard Thornton Performances, Ranked". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
34. Squires, John (November 2, 2023). "'Terrifier 3' Will Slay Christmas in Theaters on October 25, 2024!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
35. Squires, John (June 10, 2024). "'Terrifier' Star David Howard Thornton Playing Killer Steamboat Willie in 'Screamboat'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
36. Earl, William (June 10, 2024). "Steamboat Willie Horror Film 'Screamboat' Casts 'Terrifier' Star David Howard Thornton as Murderous Mouse (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
37. Squires, John (October 26, 2021). "First Image of Original 'Day of the Dead' Cast Reunited in Upcoming 'Night of the Living Dead 2' [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
38. Squires, John (September 16, 2024). "Official 'Terrifier 3' Music Video from Ice Nine Kills Slashing into Fantastic Fest & AMC Theatres!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.

External links

• David Howard Thornton at Behind The Voice Actors
• David Howard Thornton at IMDb
• David Howard Thornton at Rotten Tomatoes