Jeffrey Thomas (born 1945) is a Welsh-born New Zealand actor and writer, best known for his film, television and stage roles. Thomas was born in Llanelli, south Wales, to a fluent Welsh-speaking family. His grandmother's interest in drama awakened an early interest in acting. After leaving school he trained as a quantity surveyor, but grew bored with office work. He attended Liverpool University, completing a BA in English Literature and in Celtic Studies and English Literature. While at university he began writing and acting in university revues. He continued his studied as Oxford University, gaining a Masters degree in Literature. While at Oxford, Thomas met and married a New Zealander, and after completing his studies they moved initially to Australia (where he lectured at La Trobe University) and then, in 1976, to Wellington. Here he taught romantic and Victorian poetry at Victoria University, before becoming a fulltime actor and writer the following year.Thomas's first stage work was in university revues while in Liverpool. He quit to study full time, only taking up acting again when at Latrobe. After moving to New Zealand he appeared in various productions at Unity, Downstage, and Circa Theatres, before gaining a television role in early New Zealand soap opera Close to Home, in which he played Gerry, an ex-patriate London barman for 18 months. Thomas rose to prominence in New Zealand in the late 1980s with the lead role of Inspector "Sharky" Finn in the TVNZ police drama series Shark in the Park, and is also well known for his roles in two long-running New Zealand soap operas, Mercy Peak and Shortland Street, and his distinctive voice can be heard narrating a large number of documentaries. His central role of Dr William Kingsley in Mercy Peak led to him winning the Best Actor award at the 2003 New Zealand Film and Television Awards. Internationally, Thomas is best known for his starring roles of Jason in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and narrator in Costa Botes's and Peter Jackson's mockumentary Forgotten Silver. Thomas also starred as Titus Lentulus Batiatus on the Starz series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Thomas reunited with Peter Jackson in The Hobbit, in which he played the Dwarf King Thrór.

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