Erik Thomson is a Scottish-New Zealand-Australian actor. He played Hades in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena Warrior Princess, and Young Hercules, Dr. Mitch Stevens in All Saints and Dave Rafter in Packed to the Rafters.
Thomson has been nominated for many awards, and won a few, including an Australian Film Institute Award for his performance in the Australian feature film Somersault in 2004.
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Early life
Erik Thomson was born c. 1967 in Inverness, Scotland. His grandmother was from the Shetland Islands, and he would stay there every summer, often accompanying his fishermen grandfather and uncles on their fishing boats. He sometimes ate whale that was brought by Norwegian and Russian whalers in exchange for mutton prepared by his grandmother. His family emigrated to New Zealand when he was seven, settling first in Tauranga.
The family moved to Upper Hutt, near Wellington. While at high school, he played rugby, and also played in a band with Tim Balme, performing songs by The Clash and various artists on the NZ Flying Nun label.
He first studied English literature and drama at Victoria University of Wellington, but did not graduate before switching to study performing arts at the New Zealand Drama School, from which he graduated in 1990. He has said "All my memories of my childhood and my early adult life are in New Zealand", and he regards the country as his "spiritual home".
