Watching Henry Thomas' 1981 Audition For E.T. Will Make You Cry

There's a certain kind of pure, raw energy that comes from auditions. It's one thing to see the audition process on any given project, but it's another beast entirely to get that rare glimpse at an old audition for what would eventually go on to become a worldwide phenomenon. That's what happened when a 10-year-old Henry Thomas showed up one day in 1981 to read for a major role in this little film called E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.