The New York Times critic Ben Brantley described Thompson as "one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation".
Thompson was born in Bath, England, to Jamaican parents, and was raised in Montreal, Quebec. He graduated from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York in 1985, where he studied marketing and business. In the early 1990s he worked as a traveling computer salesman in New England. After losing his job, Thompson decided to pursue acting and enrolled at the Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company program in Providence, Rhode Island.
Thompson began appearing in a variety of lead and supporting roles across New England, most notably at the American Repertory Theater and Shakespeare and Company, also giving his first performance as Othello at the Trinity Repertory Company prior to attaining critical success in New York.

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