Richard Thomas on Why Finding Roles after "The Waltons" was Difficult - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 05-04-2026, 05:54 PM

Richard Thomas Explains Why Finding Roles after his Iconic "The Waltons" Character was Challenging
by Sharareh Drury
May 4, 2026

Richard Thomas is opening up about the career challenges he faced after appearing on "The Waltons".

Speaking with Page Six, the 74-year-old actor explained that following his memorable turn as John-Boy Walton on the popular '70s series, he faced limited opportunities.

"There were three channels," Thomas emphasized of the television landscape at the time. Add in the fact he was starring on one of the most popular series at the time, Thomas felt after fiver years on the show, "it was going to take at least five years to sort of do enough work to start to balance the scales."

Despite challenges to break through into new roles, Thomas has "incredible gratitude, affection, and fond memories" of starring in what he describes as "a wonderful piece of television for its time."

“The reach of that was phenomenal and hard for people to understand today,” he added of the historical drama that followed a rural West Virginia family navigating hardships during the Great Depression and World War II.

The series ran for nine seasons from 1972 to 1981 on CBS, earned 13 Emmys, and at its peak was watched by an estimated 18 million people weekly.

Thomas has since secured a mix of noteworthy roles both on screen and on stage, including playing FBI Special Agent Frank Gaad, director of the FBI Counterintelligence Department on "The Americans".

“I loved it because it was kind of counterintuitive casting for me," he shared. "It gave me really a wonderful opportunity to play a rather enigmatic character who sometimes you thought was OK, sometimes you thought he was just a d--k, you know?"

Thomas has also starred in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It and as the estranged, manipulative father of Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) on "Ozark".

The actor has also appeared in multiple Broadway plays, including his 2017 Tony Award-nominated role as Horace Giddens in the Broadway revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes.

https://ew.com/richard-thomas-says-f...ltons-11965620

05-04-2026, 05:54 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 56,985	Richard Thomas on Why Finding Roles after "The Waltons" was Difficult *Richard Thomas Explains Why Finding Roles after his Iconic "The Waltons" Character was Challenging* by Sharareh Drury May 4, 2026 Richard Thomas is opening up about the career challenges he faced after appearing on "The Waltons". Speaking with Page Six, the 74-year-old actor explained that following his memorable turn as John-Boy Walton on the popular '70s series, he faced limited opportunities. "There were three channels," Thomas emphasized of the television landscape at the time. Add in the fact he was starring on one of the most popular series at the time, Thomas felt after fiver years on the show, "it was going to take at least five years to sort of do enough work to start to balance the scales." Despite challenges to break through into new roles, Thomas has "incredible gratitude, affection, and fond memories" of starring in what he describes as "a wonderful piece of television for its time." “The reach of that was phenomenal and hard for people to understand today,” he added of the historical drama that followed a rural West Virginia family navigating hardships during the Great Depression and World War II. The series ran for nine seasons from 1972 to 1981 on CBS, earned 13 Emmys, and at its peak was watched by an estimated 18 million people weekly. Thomas has since secured a mix of noteworthy roles both on screen and on stage, including playing FBI Special Agent Frank Gaad, director of the FBI Counterintelligence Department on "The Americans". “I loved it because it was kind of counterintuitive casting for me," he shared. "It gave me really a wonderful opportunity to play a rather enigmatic character who sometimes you thought was OK, sometimes you thought he was just a d--k, you know?" Thomas has also starred in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It and as the estranged, manipulative father of Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) on "Ozark". The actor has also appeared in multiple Broadway plays, including his 2017 Tony Award-nominated role as Horace Giddens in the Broadway revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes. https://ew.com/richard-thomas-says-f...ltons-11965620