Thomas began appearing in screen roles in the mid 1990s, and had minor roles in several films, including Conspiracy Theory (1997), Can't Hardly Wait (1998) and Cruel Intentions (1999). His first leading role was in the teen romance Save the Last Dance, in which he starred opposite Julia Stiles. The film opened in January 2001 and became successful among teen audiences, grossing over $90 million domestically. Subsequently, Thomas appeared in supporting roles in the films Barbershop and Halloween: Resurrection, both of which were released in 2002. Thomas was a cast member on The District, a television crime drama that aired on CBS (from 2000–04).
Thomas played recurring character Alan Townsend on Reaper. He originated the recurring character of Karl Dupree on Lie To Me. In 2009, he took to the stage, playing the title role in "Othello" for Theatre for a New Audience in New York. This production moved to the Intiman Theatre in Seattle for the summer. In 2012, he worked with Ioan Gruffudd and Sarah Michelle Gellar in Ringer. He was originally cast as Cyborg for Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, replacing Shemar Moore from Justice League: War who was initially not available to reprise his role. But after Sean Patrick Thomas recorded the role, Shemar Moore was available again so Andrea Romano, for the sake of continuity, recast Thomas with Shemar Moore who lip synced to the earlier performance of Thomas. Patrick Thomas portrayed Dr. Michael Cayle in the Horror film Deep in the Darkness, based on the Michael Laimo novel with the same name.
By Posted on