Many of the teenage actors in the ensemble cast of the 1999 film’s first instalment, notably Jason Biggs and Seann William Scott, had their careers take off as a result. Eddie Kaye Thomas’ breakthrough performance in the bawdy high school comedy was as Finch (rarely used first name Paul), the prettiest member of the group promising to lose their virginity before they graduate from Great Falls High School. Finch gets his retribution at the end when he encounters—and is captivated by—mother, Stifler’s who bullied him for much of the first instalment of the trilogy (Jennifer Coolidge). Discover what else Thomas has done in his career after playing the same espresso-sipping character in three sequels by reading on.
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He began his career as a kid actor.
When Thomas was barely seven years old, he started his stage career. The native of Staten Island had his stage debut in 1992 as an understudy in the Broadway production of Four Baboons Adoring the Sun. In 1997, he made his Broadway debut in a production of The Diary of Anne Frank that starred Natalie Portman, then 16 years old. He made his television debut in 1994 on the shows Two Guys and a Girl, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and One Life to Live. Prior to American Pie, he also made appearances in Illtown, Mr. Jealousy, and Harvest as well as Felicity and Law & Order episodes. When the classic teen sex comedy came out, he was 19 years old.
Recently, he has played increasingly serious roles.
Despite spending several years as Finch, Thomas avoided being used as a type in other roles. Since then, he has played both comedic and tragic roles, as well as going back to his theatrical origins in a few off-Broadway productions. Following the success of the first American Pie, which helped define a generation, Thomas took on roles in a number of silly comedies, such as Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty Love, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and Freddy Got Fingered, which starred and was directed by Tom Green, an absurdist MTV personality. Shattered Memories and Alex and the List both have more recent film roles.
Thomas appears on TV more frequently, though. He made appearances in The X-Files, Wonderfalls, Family Guy, and This Is Us in the 2000s and ’10s and played major roles in ‘Til Death, How to Make It in America, and Scorpion. He appeared in Prodigal Son in 2021 after making cameo appearances on Outmatched and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2020.
He is rather reclusive.
Thomas doesn’t use social media and rarely discusses his personal life in public. We do know that he is best friends in real life with Biggs, who revealed in a Build interview that they were acquainted before they were chosen for the role of Biggs in American Pie because they were both kid actors in New York City at the time. After seeing his friend’s first driver’s licence, the actor also shared a humorous story about how he is one of the few individuals in the industry who is aware of Thomas’ real identity because he uses it professionally.
It’s unclear who, if anyone, the 41-year-old Thomas is dating right now. At one point, the actor dated Ari Graynor, with whom he shared roles in the 2005 off-Broadway play Dog Sees God and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.
He’s always up for another American Pie.
Thomas has caught up with his young co-stars on additional occasions besides just for the filming of American Pie 2 in 2001, American Wedding in 2003, and American Reunion in 2012. In an Entertainment Tonight special, the actors came together in 2019 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the original film. And he made his 2020 debut on the Biggs sitcom Outmatched with Alyson Hannigan, who plays Michelle, the band nerd, in the comedic series.
It’s obvious why the ensemble continues to find time for one another, as Thomas noted back in 2011 when discussing the cast’s decision to reunite for a fourth film following a protracted American Pie break. He told Complex, “We laughed so much, it seemed effortless, it was a nice time and there was a lot of laughter and togetherness.
