Thomas Jane, born Thomas Elliott III, jumped in film industry by chance when he was chosen by Indian producers to play the leading male in Telugu film "Padamati Sandhya Ragam" (1987), which was a Romeo and Juliet love story between a white American and an Indian girl. His acting debut in the feature received much acclaim in India that he gradually decided to quit studies and relocated to Los Angeles to start acting.

He initially struggled to find proper jobs before landing parts in TV series and films. His early appearances included in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1992), "The Crow: City of Angels" (1996), "The Thin Red Line" (1998), and "Magnolia" (1999).In fact, it was his role as a crazy drug dealer Todd Parker in the 1997 drama "Boogie Nights" that got him noticed though the film didn't score well in box office. It was followed by starring roles in "The Thin Red Line" and "The Velocity of Gary". He, afterwards, was recruited by director-producer Renny Harlin to star as the shark wrangler Carter Blake in "Deep Blue Sea" (1999), and to play the title role in "The Punisher" (2004). "The Mist", "Mutant Chronicles", "Drive Hard", "Grizzly", and "Vice" were among the additional features that Thomas added into his resume.

The Baltimore, Maryland native has one daughter, Harlow Olivia Calliope, with second wife actress Patricia Arquette, whom he married from June 2006 to July 2011. His first wife was actress Aysha Hauer. The couple married from 1989 to 1995.