Thomas Barbusca

THOMAS BARBUSCA

Date of Birth: March 3, 2003

For some people, following in the footsteps of an older sibling means getting into sports. For New Jersey native Thomas Barbusca, it meant getting into acting.

Thomas' older sister Brielle relocated to Los Angeles from the East Coast when she secured a part in the miniseries The Starter Wife in 2007 (she has since acted in other projects including Scandal, The Mindy Project and Modern Family). Naturally, Thomas joined her and began exploring the art of acting on his own.

His career was launched with roles in TV commercials. He did work for Dominos, Ford, Kraft and J.C. Penny, among others, before he landed the part of Donny in two episodes of The New Normal between 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he also worked on one episode of Body of Proof and one episode of New Girl.

Thomas kept busy in 2014 playing Link McNeil, a young boy in dire need of a heart transplant, in five episodes of Grey's Anatomy. He also played Justin in one episode of the Charlie Sheen-led, FX original series Anger Management, and won his first feature film role in the dramedy The Last Time You Had Fun.

The next year, Thomas worked on one episode of Shameless and nabbed a minor part in the drama Tag with Scout Taylor-Compton. Additionally, he portrayed bully Drew in seven episodes of the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and Jimmy in three episodes of American Horror Story: Hotel.

In 2016, Thomas took on the part of Chris Schenck in two episodes of Preacher. In the series, Chris approaches Jesse (the main character of the show, who's played by Dominic Cooper) and asks him to hurt his abusive father. Seth Rogen directed Thomas in the series, which he told BuddyTV in June 2016 was a "cool" experience. He added, "Not many children get the chance to say they were even allowed to see a Seth Rogen project, let alone be directed by him on one."

Also in 2016, Thomas shared the screen with Amy Schumer in a hilarious Old Navy commercial that began airing in August.

Thomas' most recent project is the comedy Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016), based on the James Patterson book series. He played Leo in the film, which co-stars Lauren Graham and Griffin Gluck.

He is also expected to appear in the comedic TV movie The Mick with Sofia Black-D'Elia in 2017.

Thomas, who has been nominated six times and won once (for his recurring role on Grey's Anatomy) at the Young Artist Awards, revealed to BuddyTV in 2016 the best piece of advice he's received from seasoned actors: "To make every role my own and just own what I do."

Filmography:

The Mick (2017)
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)
Tag (2015)
The Last Time You Had Fun (2014)