# David Howard Thornton

David Howard Thornton (born November 30, 1979) 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), Bupkis (2023), and 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 titular character in The Mean One (2022).

## Early and personal life

Thornton grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, where as a child he first appeared on stage in a production by the local drama company Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theatre. He graduated from Huntsville's Grissom High School and received a degree in elementary education from the central Alabama liberal arts college the University of Montevallo. In a 2023 interview, Thornton spoke about discovering he is autistic as an adult.

## Career
### Early work

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. In 2015, he provided additional voices for Miss Hokusai. 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.

### Terrifier and career assurgence (2016–present)

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. 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. Also in 2022, Thornton starred as the titular character, a horror retelling of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, in The Mean One.
Thornton reprised the role of Art the Clown in the 2023 Peacock series, Bupkis, and Terrifier 3 in October 2024. He appeared as Player 2 in the 2024 film, Stream. He is set to appear as Shark Bait Zombie in the upcoming film, Night of the Living Dead II.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | Miss Hokusai | Additional Voices | Voice |
| 2016 | Terrifier | Art the Clown | |
| 2019 | The Exigency | Bumbo | Voice |
| 2021 | The Dark Offerings | Tim Cobb | |
| 2022 | Terrifier 2 | Art the Clown | |
| 2022 | The Mean One | The Mean One | |
| 2024 | Stream | Player 2 | |
| 2024 | Terrifier 3 | Art the Clown | |
| 2025 | Jokers Wild | The Joker | Fan film Short film |
| 2025 | Screamboat | Steamboat Willie | |
| TBA | Night of the Living Dead II | Shark Bait Zombie | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017 | Gotham | Orderly | Episode: "A Dark Knight: The Blade's Path" |
| 2019 | The Bravest Knight | Billy Goats / Newt | 2 episodes Voice |
| 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 |
| 2023 | Bupkis | Art the Clown | Episode: "Show Me the Way" |
| 2024 | A Very Special Terrifier Christmas | Art the Clown | |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Reference(s) |
| 2016–2017 | Nightwing: Escalation | The Joker | 6 episodes | |

### Video games

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

### Music videos

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

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Reference |
| 2019 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Terrifier | Nominated | |