---
name: "David Thornton"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-thornton"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "12 June 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T14:47:32.433087+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Thornton

Actor. Born 12 June 1953 in Cheraw, South Carolina, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 12 June 1953, Cheraw, South Carolina, USA
- **Also known as:** David Farrington Thornton

## Biography

David Thornton is an American actor. Born David Farrington Thornton on 12 June 1953 in Cheraw, South Carolina, he trained at Hamilton College, Yale Drama School and the Actors Studio.

He is known for roles including Michael in *Swept Away* (2002), Earl Unger in *Home Alone 3* (1997), Jimmy Palumbo in *John Q* (2002), John Hamilton in *The Notebook* (2004) and Lionel Granger in episodes of *Law & Order* and *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*. He has also appeared in *Alpha Dog* (2006), *My Sister's Keeper* (2009) and *The Other Woman* (2014).

Thornton has been married to singer and actress Cyndi Lauper since 1991.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, rottentomatoes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Swept Away* (2002), Fi1m 32, as Michael — [page](https://film.one/film/swept-away-2002.md)

## Also known for

- *The Notebook* (2004), John Hamilton
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), Lionel Granger
- *The Other Woman* (2014), Nick
- *Home Alone 3* (1997), Earl Unger
- *John Q* (2002), Jimmy Palumbo
- *Homeland* (2011), George Pallis
- *My Sister's Keeper* (2009), Dr. Chance
- *Elementary* (2012), Joe Ballantine

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-thornton