The Lifetime movie Girl in the Bunker is based on the true story of Elizabeth Shoaf. On September 6, 2006, the 14-year-old girl was walking home from her school bus stop in Lugoff, South Carolina when she was stopped by Vinson Filyaw, a man who claimed to be a police officer. The former construction worker was wearing a sheriff’s deputy uniform. He handcuffed her and put her in a 15-foot underground bunker. Filyaw was a fugitive sexual predator. He raped her repeatedly over her 10-day captivity. Remarkably, Elizabeth was found and rescued. (Filyaw was captured soon after and pleaded guilty to all counts. He was sentenced to 421 years in prison.)
Elizabeth is portrayed by Julia Lalone. Filyaw is portrayed by Henry Thomas. As a child actor, Thomas is best known for his starring role in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (as Elliott). As an adult actor, Thomas, 47, is known for his roles on Sons of Liberty (John Adams), Betrayal (T.J. Karsten), and the 1998 TV mini-series Moby Dick (Ishmael) with Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab and Gregory Peck as Father Mapple. Thomas will appear next in the forthcoming Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House based on the 1959 Shirley Jackson novel. Girl in the Bunker premieres of Lifetime on Monday, May 28 at 8pm.
? ?ET actor phones ‘home’ to talk about his Welsh roots https://t.co/n0kf9rzRLa
Henry Thomas, who played Elliott in 80s sci-fi blockbuster, has even learned the language pic.twitter.com/7YHF5S5Wv3— BBC Wales News (@BBCWalesNews) February 16, 2018
