Erik Thomson
Erik Thomson is a Scottish-New Zealand-Australian actor. He played Hades in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena Warrior Princess, and Young Hercules, Dr. Mitch Stevens in All Saints and Dave Rafter in Packed to the Rafters.
Erik Thomson

Eva Rinaldi · Erik Thomson · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Erik Thomson
- Born
- 27 April 1967
- Birthplace
- Inverness, Scotland
- Occupation
- Actor
- Known for
- * Packed to the Rafters
- Nationality
- Australia
- Languages
- English · Australian English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Erik Thomson is a Scottish-New Zealand-Australian actor. He played Hades in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena Warrior Princess, and Young Hercules, Dr. Mitch Stevens in All Saints and Dave Rafter in Packed to the Rafters.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Erik Thomson. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q927052 · wikipedia · Erik Thomson
In this article
Biography
Biography
Thomson has been nominated for many awards, and won a few, including an Australian Film Institute Award for his performance in the Australian feature film Somersault in 2004.

Mental movie premiere at Event Cinemas, Sydney, Australia This evening 'Mental' enjoyed its Australian movie premiere at Event Cinemas, George St, Sydney. The weather was wet outside, but the atmosphere was warmish inside, as Sydney enjoyed yet another red carpet event. Australian filmmaker PJ Hogan reunites with his "Muriel’s Wedding" star Toni Collette with Liev Schreiber, Anthony LaPaglia and R
Eva Rinaldi · Erik Thomson
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Erik Thomson • Born — 27 April 1967 • Birthplace — Inverness, Scotland • Citizenship — * United Kingdom • New Zealand • Australia • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1990−present • Known for — * Packed to the Rafters • Back to the Rafters • All Saints
Early life
Early life
Erik Thomson was born c. 1967 in Inverness, Scotland. His grandmother was from the Shetland Islands, and he would stay there every summer, often accompanying his fishermen grandfather and uncles on their fishing boats. He sometimes ate whale that was brought by Norwegian and Russian whalers in exchange for mutton prepared by his grandmother. His family emigrated to New Zealand when he was seven, settling first in Tauranga. The family moved to Upper Hutt, near Wellington. While at high school, he played rugby, and also played in a band with Tim Balme, performing songs by The Clash and various artists on the NZ Flying Nun label. He first studied English literature and drama at Victoria University of Wellington, but did not graduate before switching to study performing arts at the New Zealand Drama School, from which he graduated in 1990. He has said "All my memories of my childhood and my early adult life are in New Zealand", and he regards the country as his "spiritual home". Thomson holds triple British, New Zealand and Australian citizenship.
Career
Career
Thomson had a number of television roles in New Zealand, starting with Marlin Bay, a drama set in a casino and resort. He won a wider fan following for his occasional appearances as the god Hades in the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and Young Hercules, all three series of which were filmed in New Zealand. In 1995, Thomson moved to Australia and landed regular roles in Pacific Drive, medical series All Saints (1999–2003) and The Alice (2005). He has had guest roles on such series as Wildside and Always Greener. From 2008 to 2013, Thomson played Dave Rafter on the Seven Network dramedy series Packed to the Rafters. From 2015 to 2018 he had the lead role in 800 Words. Thomson's work in theatre includes roles in Complete Works of Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Twelve Angry Men, and Angels in America. Thomson's film credits include the role of soldier Simon Mollison in the 2008 film The Black Balloon with Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Toni Collette and Gemma Ward. He appeared in Somersault with Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington, which scored him an AFI Award. He also featured in Accidents Happen with Geena Davis, Storm Boy with Geoffrey Rush, and Finn Little, and Blueback with Mia Wasikowska and Radha Mitchell. In 2023, Thomson appeared in channel 7 series The Claremont Murders. In 2024 Thomson was named in the cast for Kangaroo Island. On 21 October 2024, Thomson was announced to play Scrooge for the 2024 theatre season of A Christmas Carol.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1992-94 — Marlin Bay — TV series • 1992 — The Ray Bradbury Theater — Young Man — TV series • 1995 — Plainclothes — PC James Rose — TV series • 1995 — The Enid Blyton Adventure Series — Joe — TV series • 1995-99 — Hercules: The Legendary Journeys — Hades — TV series • 1995–98 — Xena: Warrior Princess — Hades — TV series • 1996-97 — Pacific Drive — Brett Barrett — TV series • 1998-99 — Young Hercules — Hades — TV series • 1997-99 — Wildside — Guest role — TV series • 2001-03 — Always Greener — Guest role — TV series • 1999-03 — All Saints — Dr. Mitchell Stevens — TV series • 2001 — Justin Brown — Justin Brown • 2004 — Through My Eyes — Professor James Cameron — TV miniseries • 2005 — MDA — David Simpson — TV series • 2005–06 — The Alice — Jack Jaffers — TV series • 2008–13 — Packed to the Rafters — Dave Rafter — TV series • 2014 — The Code — Niko Gaelle — TV series • 2015–18 — 800 Words — George Turner — TV series • 2020 — The Luminaries — Dick Mannering — TV miniseries • 2021-22 — Aftertaste — Easton West — TV series, 12 episodes • 2021 — Back to the Rafters — Dave Rafter — TV series, 6 episodes • 2022 — Black Snow — Steve Walcott — TV series, 6 episodes • 2023 — The Claremont Murders — Don Spiers — TV miniseries, 2 episodes • C*A*U*G*H*T — Colonel Bishop — 6 episodes • 2024 — My Life Is Murder — Lawrence — 1 episode • Critical Incident — Trevor Latt — 6 episodes • 2026 — My Brilliant Career — Theodore Hardwicke — TV series
Work and production
Work and production
Works recorded as notable number 8: 800 Words, The Black Balloon, Storm Boy, The Boys Are Back, Now Add Honey, Packed to the Rafters, All Saints and Back to the Rafters.
Identity
Identity
Erik Thomson is recorded as actor.
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1998 — 13 Gantry Row — Kieron — TV movie • 2004 — Somersault — Richard — Feature film • 2006 — BlackJack: Dead Memory — Rob — TV movie • 2007 — We're Here to Help — Dave Henderson — Feature film • 2008 — The Black Balloon — Simon Mollison — Feature film • 2009 — The Boys Are Back — Digby — Feature film • Beautiful — Frank — Feature film • Accidents Happen — Bob — Feature film • 2013 — The Broken Shore — Steve Villani — TV movie • 2015 — Now Add Honey — Richard Morgan — Feature film • 2018 — Storm Boy — Malcom Downer — Feature film • 2019 — Awoken — Robert — Feature film • 2021 — Coming Home in the Dark — Hoaggie — Feature film • 2022 — Blueback — Costello — Feature film • Monolith — Voice — |Feature film • 2024 — Kangaroo Island — Rory Wells
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q927052: Erik Thomson
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Erik Thomson”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
Awards
section Thomson won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Somersault, and was nominated for his work in The Black Balloon. For television, he has been nominated for a Logie Award five times and has won two Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor. • Organizations — Year — Category — Work — Result • Logie Awards — 2002 — Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor • 2003 • 2004 • 2009 • 2010 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • AFI Awards — 2004 — AFI Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role • 2008 (The Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor was referred to as "Best Actor" in 2016 and 2017)
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Quinn, Karl. Aftertaste's Erik Thomson changes course from nice to nasty: 'I could end up playing arseholes for the next 20 years'. The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 February 2021.
- 2.Thomson, Erik. Erik Thomson: As a kid I ate whale. Gourmet Traveller. 16 February 2021.
- 3.Erik Thomson: No more Mr Nice Guy. InDaily. 7 May 2021.
- 4.Erik Thomson. NZ On Screen. 5 September 2020.
- 5.Law, Benjamin. If Erik’s hit show had been in the US, he’d be retired. In Australia, he was essentially broke. Sydney Morning Herald. 28 May 2026.
- 6.Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. IMDb.
- 7.800 Words. IMDb.
- 8.Accidents Happen (2009). IMDb.
- 9.Perry, Kevin. FIRST LOOK | KATE RITCHIE and ERIK THOMSON to star in Australian drama event THE CLAREMONT MURDERS. TVblackbox. 5 April 2023.
- 10.Slatter, Sean. Rebecca Breeds, Erik Thomson find their way to Tim Piper's 'Kangaroo Island'. IF Magazine. 2023-12-18.
- 11.Theatre, Aussie. Beloved Australian TV star Erik Thomson to find his inner Scrooge this Christmas. AussieTheatre.com. 2024-10-21.
- 12.Debelle, Penelope. The state of science fiction. InDaily. 7 October 2022.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,589 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Erik SchmedesPerson
- Erik SkjoldbjærgPerson
- Erik SolbakkenPerson
- Erik SullivanPerson
- Erik Van LooyPerson
- Erik van ZuylenPerson
- Erik von DettenPerson
- Erik von LoewisPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Erik Thomson?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.