David "Dave" Thomas (born May 20, 1949) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, but moved to Durham, North Carolina where his father, John E. Thomas, attended Duke University and earned a PhD in Philosophy. Thomas attended George Watts and Moorehead elementary schools. The family moved back to Dundas, Ontario in 1961 where he attended Dundas District high school and later, graduated with an honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Thomas was granted an honorary doctorate from McMaster University November 20, 2009.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 20, 1949 (77)
- St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
- Actor and writer, also director, producer and editor
- 53 on MovieCove · 94 credits in all
What are Dave Thomas' films like?
Across their 27 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 6 · Wry 3 · Earnest 16
Light 24 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 9 · Stylized 12 · Heightened 4
Gentle 18 · Charged 7 · Intense 0
Steady 18 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 16
Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 14 · Relentless 0
Casual 23 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 23 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 0
Resolved 25 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 3 of 9 analyzed roles.
Show the 9 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Doug McKenzie in Strange Brew (1983)
- Tricksteras Doug McKenzie in Strange Brew (1983)
- Heroas Professor Henry Osgood in Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986)
- Shadowas Mayor Upton in Love at Stake (1987)
- Threshold guardianas Larry in Cold Sweat (1993)
- Heroas Tom Foster in Kidz in the Wood (1995)
- Heraldas The Ghost of Christmas Specials Past (Bob Hope) in The True Meaning of Christmas Specials (2002)
- Tricksteras Tuke in Brother Bear (2003)
- Mentoras Freddy Kablinski in Beethoven's 5th (2003)
Moods and endings
- Happy18
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous4
- Cyclical2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Dave Thomas' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 36 of their 53 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).
- Justice League (2001) · actor · free
- Animaniacs (1993) · actor · free
- Strange Brew (1983) · actor, director, writer · free
- Spies Like Us (1985) · writer · free
- Moving (1988) · actor · free
- Pippi Longstocking (1997) · actor · free
- White Coats (2004) · actor, director, writer · free
- Ghost Mom (1993) · director, writer · free
- Love at Stake (1987) · actor · free
- Pound Puppies (2010) · actor · free
- Boris and Natasha (1991) · actor · free
Subscription and free streaming for Dave Thomas' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
94 credits, 53 with a MovieCove page; 12 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows
The Blacklist(2013)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
Perception(2012)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
The Legend of Korra(2012)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Pound Puppies(2010)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all shows
Bob & Doug (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Angel Wars: Grace and Glory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Second City: First Family of Comedy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Brother Bear 2(2006)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all filmsAs Seen on TV: The K-Tel Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Christmas with SCTV (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Santa's Slay(2005)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
How I Met Your Mother(2005)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Bones(2005)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Angel Wars: Blue Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Weeds(2005)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
A Beachcombers Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Catching Kringle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Angel Wars: About Face (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Love on the Side(2004)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
White Coats(2004)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Who's Your Daddy?(2002)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Beethoven's 5th(2003)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Arrested Development(2003)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Sing Along Songs: Brother Bear - On My Way (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Brother Bear(2003)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
The New Beachcombers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Fancy Dancing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Uncle Gus: Not So Fast! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Justice League(2001)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
The Legend of Tarzan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Rat Race(2001)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Primetime Glick (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Even Stevens(2000)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
Mission Hill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Uncle Gus in: For the Love of Monkeys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Crashbox(1999)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
That '70s Show(1998)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Ambushed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
CatDog(1998)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all shows
King of the Hill(1997)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
Pippi Longstocking(1997)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Kidz in the Wood(1995)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Picture Perfect (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
Duckman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Ghost Mom(1993)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Grace Under Fire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Animaniacs(1993)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows
Coneheads(1993)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Cold Sweat(1993)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Raw Toonage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
The Larry Sanders Show(1992)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Boris and Natasha(1991)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Lucky Luke(1991)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Public Enemy #2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Maniac Mansion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Bobby's World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Parker Lewis Can't Lose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
The Dave Thomas Comedy Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
The Simpsons(1989)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Andrea Martin... Together Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
The Rocket Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
The Experts(1989)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
The Best of SCTV(1988)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Moving(1988)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Love at Stake(1987)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
My Man Adam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
George Burns Comedy Week (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
The Steel Collar Man(1985)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Follow That Bird(1985)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
The Last Polka(1985)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Spies Like Us(1985)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all filmsThe Adventures of the Get Along Gang (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
The New Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Strange Brew(1983)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Stripes(1981)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
SCTV Network 90 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
From Cleveland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Double Negative(1980)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
Riel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Just Me and You(1978)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Home to Stay (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
SCTV(1976)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Saturday Night Live(1975)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all showsThe David Steinberg Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Popzilla (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 97th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 91 titles, 90 of them dated from 1972 to 2021; peak year 2004.
Film career
Peak 2004 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1981Screen debut· Stripes
- 1983First top-billed film· Strange Brew
- 1983Breakout· Strange Brew
- 2019Career best· Fast & Furious Spy Racers
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Dave Thomas' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 31st percentile, the median of all 32; across their 25 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 38th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up20
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th10
- Below 25th12
Shape of the crowd
18 of their 53 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved11
- Universally Panned1
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic4
- Crowd Pleaser17
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed18
Reviewers score the acting 60/100 in their films, across 19 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 36. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Dave Thomas' work okay for kids?
Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity runs heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Dave Thomas work with?
People who share at least 2 of Dave Thomas' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Eugene Levy shares the most, 6.
Directors
- John BlanchardShared titles: Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), The Last Polka (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 3 shared titles with John Blanchard
Writers
- Dick BlasucciShared titles: The Best of SCTV (1988), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986), Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 4 shared titles with Dick Blasucci
- Michael ShortShared titles: The Best of SCTV (1988), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986), Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 4 shared titles with Michael Short
- Paul FlahertyShared titles: The Best of SCTV (1988), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986), Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 4 shared titles with Paul Flaherty
- Eugene LevyShared titles: You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way) (2025), The Best of SCTV (1988), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986), Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), The Last Polka (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 6 shared titles with Eugene Levy
Actors
- Jayne EastwoodShared titles: You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way) (2025), Ghost Mom (1993), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Jayne Eastwood
- Don DickinsonShared titles: Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), The Last Polka (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Don Dickinson
- Robin DukeShared titles: Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), The Last Polka (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Robin Duke
- Jeremy SuarezShared titles: Brother Bear 2 (2006), Brother Bear (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Jeremy Suarez
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Ian ThomasShared titles: White Coats (2004), Ghost Mom (1993), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Ian Thomas
- Vic SarinShared titles: Love on the Side (2004), Cold Sweat (1993), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Vic Sarin
- Nick RotundoShared titles: Cold Sweat (1993), Ghost Mom (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Nick Rotundo
- Charles FoxShared titles: Love at Stake (1987), Strange Brew (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Fox
Producers
- Patrick WhitleyShared titles: The Best of SCTV (1988), Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986), Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985), SCTV (1976)See all 4 shared titles with Patrick Whitley
- Andrew AlexanderShared titles: White Coats (2004), The Best of SCTV (1988), SCTV (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Andrew Alexander
- Mike ElliottShared titles: MatchMaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill (2021), Beethoven's 5th (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Mike Elliott
- Jonathan D. KraneShared titles: Boris and Natasha (1991), The Experts (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Jonathan D. Krane
Mixed roles
- Charles Martin SmithShared titles: Boris and Natasha (1991), The Experts (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Martin Smith
- Brian Doyle-MurrayShared titles: The Experts (1989), SCTV (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Doyle-Murray
