Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963
Early life
Thomas Cavanagh was born on October 26, 1963 (although some sources state 1968) in Ottawa, Ontario, to a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent. Cavanagh moved with his family to Winneba, a small city in Ghana when he was a child.
In his teens, the family moved to Lennoxville, Quebec when his father became the Academic Dean of Champlain College. He attended the Séminaire de Sherbrooke, where he studied in French and played basketball for the Barons. He later studied at Champlain College in Lennoxville at the CEGEP level. While attending Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, he became interested in theatre and music and played ice hockey and varsity basketball. He graduated in 1987 with degrees in English, biology and education.
Career
Commercial credits
Cavanagh acted in his native Canada for many years, appearing on television dramas such as Jake and the Kid in the late 1990s, and television commercials, appearing for Oh Henry! chocolate bars and Labatt Blue Light beer commercials in the 1990s and for CIBC.
Broadway roles
In 1989, he was cast in the Broadway revival of Shenandoah and in 2003 he starred as Bobby Strong in the Broadway cast of Urinetown. Other stage credits include productions of A Chorus Line, Cabaret, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and Grease. He appeared in the 2008 production of Some Americans Abroad at Second Stage Theatre in New York City.
Television performances
After gaining notice for his recurring role as Doug the Dog Guy in the NBC television program Providence, Cavanagh was cast as the title character in the NBC program Ed. Cavanagh received a Golden Globe nomination and a TV Guide Award for his work on Ed, which ran for four seasons beginning in October 2000 and concluding in February 2004.
Cavanagh hosted Stories from the Vaults on Smithsonian Networks from 2008 to 2009. He made a guest appearance in the mid-season premiere of the USA Network show Royal Pains as former professional golfer Jack O'Malley. In 2012, he starred in Lifetime's A Killer Among Us remake.
alt=|thumb|upright|Cavanagh at the 2015 Paley Fest
From 2014 to 2021, Cavanagh was a series regular on The CW's live-action television series The Flash, portraying Harrison Wells; most notably Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash impersonating the Earth-1 version in conjunction with several different doppelgängers, such as Earth-2's Harry, Earth-19 writer H. R., Earth-221 detective Sherloque, and explorer Nash (also known as Pariah). He was a regular cast member for seven seasons, and made guest appearances in the final two seasons. In 2023, Cavanagh began hosting the game show Hey Yahoo!.
Film performances
Cavanagh starred in the 2002 film Bang Bang You're Dead. Prior to Ed, Cavanagh's film appearances were mainly in supporting roles. They re-launched the podcast in August 2021 on the Starburns Audio podcast network until going on hiatus again in early 2023. They re-relaunched the podcast in September 2025 as part of the Realm podcast network.
Personal life
Cavanagh married Maureen Grise, an image editor for Sports Illustrated, on July 31, 2004, in a Catholic ceremony on Nantucket, Massachusetts. The couple has two daughters and two sons.
Cavanagh ran the 2006 New York City Marathon.
In summer 2008, he founded the Cavanagh Classic, an annual celebrity basketball tournament in Rucker Park in Harlem to raise money and awareness for Nothing But Nets. The charity's goal is to combat malaria by sending mosquito nets to families that need them. Cavanagh travelled to Rwanda on a March 2009 United Nations Foundation trip to distribute the nets and educate the recipients in their use.
Filmography
<!--do NOT use rowspans per WP:FILMOGRAPHY-->
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1991
| White Light
| Ella's Secretary
|
|-
| 1995
| Dangerous Intentions
| Ron
|
|-
| 1995
| Magic in the Water
| Simon
|
|-
| 1996
| Mask of Death
| Joey
|
|-
| 1996
|Midnight Heat
| Bowlan
|
|-
| 1996
| Profile for Murder
| Tim Jonas
|
|-
| 1997
| Honeymoon
| Jamie
|
|-
| 1999
| Something More
| Harry
|
|-
| 2003
| Freddy vs. Jason
| Will's Father
|
|-
| 2005
| Alchemy
| Mal Downey
|
|-
| 2006
| How to Eat Fried Worms
| Mitch Forrester
|
|-
| 2006
| Two Weeks
| Barry Bergman
|
|-
| 2006
| Gray Matters
| Sam Baldwin
|
|-
| 2007
| Sublime
| George Grieves
|
|-
| 2007
| data-sort-value="Cake Eaters, The" | The Cake Eaters
| Lloyd
|
|-
| 2007
| Breakfast with Scot
| Eric McNally
|
|-
| 2010
| Yogi Bear
| Ranger John Smith
|
|-
| 2013
| data-sort-value="Birder, The" | The Birder
| Ron Spencer
|
|-
| 2014
| data-sort-value="Games Maker, The" | The Games Maker
| Mr. Drago
|
|-
| 2015
| 400 Days
| Zell
|
|-
| 2016
| Sidekick
| Darkman
|
|-
| 2016
| Offer and Compromise
| Henry Warner
|
|-
| 2019
| Love & Debt
| Henry Warner
|
|-
| 2022
| Corrective Measures
| Gordon Tweedy
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1993
| Secret Service
| Charlie
| 1 episode
|-
| 1993
| Beyond Reality
|
| 1 episode
|-
| 1993
| Sherlock Holmes Returns
| Rookie Cop
| Television film
|-
| 1993
| Other Women's Children
| Marco
| Television film
|-
| 1994
|Street Legal
| Dr. Peter Shenfield
| 1 episode
|-
| 1995
| Madison
| Jesus
| 1 episode
|-
| 1995, 1999
| data-sort-value="Outer Limits, The" | The Outer Limits
| Carl Toman, Vance Ridout
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1995
|Hawkeye
| Corporal Charles Sykes
| 1 episode
|-
| 1995
| data-sort-value="Vow to Kill, A" | A Vow to Kill
| Jacey Jeffries
| Television film
|-
| 1997
| Jake and the Kid
| Paul Krause
| Main role (season 2)
|-
| 1996
|Bloodhounds II
| Levesh
| Television film
|-
| 1997
| data-sort-value="Sentinel, The" | The Sentinel
| Bill Collins
| 1 episode
|-
| 1997
| Northern Lights
| Frank
| Television film
|-
| 1998
| Cold Squad
| Spencer Taggart
| 1 episode
|-
| 1998
| Viper
| Charles Bennett
| 1 episode
|-
| 1998
| Eyes of a Cowboy
| Lonesome Cooper
| 1 episode
|-
| 1998
| Twisteeria
| Live Action Man
| Television film
|-
| 1998
| data-sort-value="900 Lives of Jackie Frye, The" | The 900 Lives of Jackie Frye
| Jackie Frye
| Television film
|-
| 1999
| Mentors
| Lewis Carroll
| 1 episode
|-
| 1999–2000
| Providence
| Doug Boyce
| Recurring role, 8 episodes
|-
| 1999
| Oh, Grow Up
| Bruce
| 1 episode
|-
| 1999
| Anya's Bell
| Patrick Birmingham
| Television film
|-
| 1999–2000
| Sports Night
| Howard
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2000–2004
| Ed
| Ed Stevens
| Lead role, 83 episodes
|-
| 2002
| Bang Bang You're Dead
| Val Duncan
| Television film
|-
| 2002–2009
| Scrubs
| Dan Dorian
| Recurring role, 7 episodes
|-
| 2004
| Jack & Bobby
| Jimmy McCallister
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2004
| Heart of the Storm
| Simpson
| Television film
|-
| 2004
| Snow
| Nick Snowden
| Television film
|-
| 2006
| Love Monkey
| Tom Farrell
| Main role, 8 episodes
|-
| 2006
| My Ex Life
| Nick
| Television film
|-
| 2008
| Snow 2: Brain Freeze
| Nick Snowden
| Television film
|-
| 2008
| data-sort-value="Capture of the Green River Killer, The" | The Capture of the Green River Killer
| Dave Reichert
| Television miniseries
|-
| 2008–2009
| Eli Stone
| Jeremy Stone
| Recurring role, 7 episodes
|-
| 2009
| Trust Me
| Conner
| Main role
|-
| 2009
| Christmas Dreams
| Eli
| Television film
|-
| 2010
| Edgar Floats
| Edgar Floats
| Television film
|-
| 2011
| Trading Christmas
| Charles Johnson
| Television film
|-
| 2011–2012
| Royal Pains
| Jack O'Malley
| Recurring role, 7 episodes
|-
| 2012
| data-sort-value="Killer Among Us, A" | A Killer Among Us
| Nick Carleton
| Television film
|-
| 2013
|Doc McStuffins
| Big Jack
| Voice role; 1 episode
|-
| 2013
| data-sort-value="Goldbergs, The" | The Goldbergs
| Charles Kremp
| 1 episode
|-
| 2013, 2023
| Blue Bloods
| Mickey Patrick
| Episodes: "Ties That Bind", "The Big Leagues"
|-
| 2014
| Lucky Duck
| Snap
| Voice role; television film
|-
| 2014
| data-sort-value="Following, The" | The Following
| Kingston Tanner
| 4 episodes
|-
| 2014
| Undateable
| Frank
| 1 episode
|-
| 2014–2023
| data-sort-value="Flash, The" | The Flash
| Harrison Wells / Pariah, Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash / The Flash
| Main role (seasons 1–7); recurring role (seasons 7-8); guest role (season 9)
|-
| 2015
| Robot Chicken
| Eobard Thawne
| Voice role; episode: "Ants on a Hamburger"
|-
| 2016
|Van Helsing
| Micah
| 1 episode
|-
| 2017
| Darrow & Darrow
| Miles
| Television film
|-
| 2017, 2019
| Supergirl
| Harrison Wells / Pariah, Eobard Thawne
| Episodes: "Crisis on Earth-X", "The Wrath of Rama Khan" (cameo), "Crisis on Infinite Earths"
|-
| 2017–2019
| Arrow
| rowspan=2| Harrison Wells, Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash
| Episodes: "Crisis on Earth-X", "Purgatory" (cameo), "Elseworlds"
|-
| 2017, 2020
| Legends of Tomorrow
| Crossover episodes: "Crisis on Earth-X", "Crisis on Infinite Earths"
|-
| 2018
| Darrow & Darrow: In the Key of Murder
| Miles
| Television film
|-
| 2018
| Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence
| Miles
| Television film
|-
| 2019
| Witness to Murder: A Darrow Mystery
| Miles
| Television film
|-
| 2019
| Batwoman
| Nash Wells
| Episode: "A Mad Tea-Party" (cameo)
|-
| 2023
| Hey Yahoo (Game Show)
| Host
| Game Show
|-
| 2024
| Superman & Lois
| Gordon Godfrey
| Episode: "Sharp Dressed Man"
|-
| 2024
| Mistletoe Murders
| Glenn Shaw
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2025
| FBI
| Philip
| 2 episodes
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
|-
| 2010
| Yogi Bear: The Video Game
| Ranger Smith
|-
|2025
|Marvel's Deadpool VR
|Mephisto
|}
As a director
- Ed (2000–2004) – three episodes
- The Flash (2017–2018) – episodes: "The Once and Future Flash", "Elongated Journey Into Night" and the 100th episode, "What's Past Is Prologue".
- Superman & Lois (2021–2023) – two episodes: "Last Sons of Krypton", "Closer".
References
External links
- Two Weeks movie site
- Mike and Tom Eat Snacks
- Biography in Playbill
<!-- Please read WP:EL and try to include articles as inline references instead of adding here -->
- Variety.com article about Love Monkey
- Tom Cavanagh Is the Inside Man for the 'Vaults' Job