Jane was born Thomas Elliott III on February 22, 1969, in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Cynthia (née Jane), an antiques dealer, and Thomas Elliott Jr., a genetic engineer. He later changed his surname to his mother's maiden name, as there was already a member of the Screen Actors Guild with his birth name.^[7]

He attended Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School but dropped out and started taking acting classes while working at a hardware store.^[8] He later moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.^[9][10] He was initially homeless and lived out of his car, often doing street performances to earn money:^[11] "I had two songs in my repertoire that I hammered to death, 'Hey Joe' and 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'. People used to pelt me with change just to shut me up."^[12]

Jane began his acting career in 1986 at age 17 after his acting coach suggested he audition for the lead male role opposite Vijayashanti in the Indian romantic comedy Padamati Sandhya Ragam (1987), which was being filmed in the Washington metropolitan area. As a result, he spent eight months filming including six months in India. The production ran out of money to pay him, so the actor was given an RV used in the film which he sold to finance his move to Hollywood.^[8]

After arriving in Hollywood, Jane's early roles included Zeph in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui, and the film Nemesis (1992). He also had supporting roles in several high-profile films, including The Crow: City of Angels (1996), Face/Off (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Thursday (1998), and Magnolia (1999). After starring in the science fiction horror film Deep Blue Sea (1999), and receiving critical acclaim as baseball player Mickey Mantle in 61* (2001), Jane received offers for leading roles beginning with Andre Stander in the South African film Stander (2003), for which he gained further critical acclaim.^[13]

Along with director Jonathan Hensleigh and Avi Arad, Jane has said he was the first and only actor to be asked to play the title role in the film The Punisher (2004). He turned down the role twice, as he did not have much interest in the superhero genre. When they asked him the second time to play the Punisher, Tim Bradstreet's artwork of the character secured his interest. After finding out that the character was not a traditional superhero, but more of an antihero and a vigilante crime fighter, he accepted,^[14] became a fan, then trained for several months with Navy SEALs, gaining more than 25 pounds (11 kg) of muscle.^[15]

In addition to starring in the film, he contributed his voice to the video games The Punisher and Gun. He also co-owns RAW, an entertainment company which he runs with Steve Niles and Tim Bradstreet. RAW Studios, the company's comic-book division, released Bad Planet (written by Jane) through Image Comics. Jane became a spokesperson for Niles and the cover model for comic-book character Cal McDonald in 2006.^[16] In addition to his screen work, Jane has appeared several times on stage, and received strong critical reviews as Tom in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, and as Chris in Arthur Miller's All My Sons. He has also portrayed a fictionalized version of himself in an episode of the television series Arrested Development.^[17]

Jane did not return in the planned sequel to The Punisher. Lions Gate Entertainment had approved a direct sequel due to the strong sales of the film on DVD. However, the project lingered in development for over three years. Jonathan Hensleigh completed a first draft of the script before leaving the project in 2006. John Dahl was in talks to direct the film, but cited his dislike of the script and the reduced budget as his reasons for refusing.^[18] In a statement on May 15, 2007, and in two audio interviews, Jane said that he pulled out of the project due to creative differences and the studio's further reduction of the budget.^[19][20]

Jane said in June 2007 that Zack Snyder had expressed interest in casting him for the role of the Comedian for the adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen,^[21] but because he was too busy, he turned down the role, which was eventually given to Jeffrey Dean Morgan.^[19] The same year he starred in Frank Darabont's adaptation of the Stephen King novella, The Mist.^[22] His directorial debut was the 2009 film Dark Country, in which he also played the main character.^[23][24][25] In 2009, Jane starred with Ving Rhames in the crime film Give 'Em Hell, Malone, which premiered at San Diego Comic-Con.^[25][26][27]

On December 18, 2008, HBO announced it was picking up the black comedy Hung, and Jane was contracted to star in the show. He plays the character of Ray Drecker, a high-school history teacher and basketball coach, who after attending a self-help class while being down on his luck, decides to market the large size of his penis as a path to success.^[28] The series was renewed for a second season, which aired in the summer of 2010.^[29] The show was renewed for a final season, which aired in fall of 2011.^[30]

Jane appeared on the June/July 2010 cover of Men's Fitness magazine.^[5] He voiced the character Jonah Hex in an animated short as a companion piece on the Special Edition Blu-ray and two-disc Special Edition DVD release of Batman: Under the Red Hood.^[31]

On June 7, 2012, Jane released a digital EP, Don't Come Home, under the pseudonym Rusty Blades.^[32] At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, Jane debuted an independently financed Punisher short film, Dirty Laundry, directed by Phil Joanou and co-starring Ron Perlman.^[33]

On February 1, 2017, Syfy began a two-episode debut of the second season of its critically acclaimed "murder mystery in space", The Expanse. Jane portrays the lead role of Detective Joe Miller in this futuristic saga, in which humans have colonized both Mars and the Asteroid Belt. The series premiered December 2015, and continued through six seasons,^[34] with Jane appearing in the first four of them.

Jane co-starred in Shane Black's The Predator (2018),^[35] a direct sequel to the 1987 film Predator and the 1990 film Predator 2.^[36]

Jane plays a lead role in the Australian crime drama series Troppo, the first season of which aired in 2022 and the second in 2024.^[37]

In August 2024, actor Jon Bernthal revealed that he trained with Thomas Jane to prepare for his role in the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again. The collaboration, which brought together two actors known for portraying the Punisher, highlights Jane's continued influence in the action genre.^[38]

In 1989, Jane married actress Aysha Hauer, daughter of Rutger Hauer. They divorced in 1995.^{[citation needed]}

After meeting through mutual friends in 2001, Jane and actress Patricia Arquette became engaged in 2002 and had a daughter together before marrying on June 25, 2006, at the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo in Venice, Italy.^[39] In January 2009, Arquette filed for divorce from Jane on the grounds of irreconcilable differences,^[40] but the couple reconciled and Arquette sought to abandon the divorce petition six months later.^[41] However, they proceeded with the divorce,^[42] which was finalized on July 1, 2011. The pair were granted joint custody of their child.^[43]

Jane and former Hung co-star Anne Heche announced that they were in a relationship in 2019; however, they had separated by the time of Heche's death in 2022.^[44][45]

For the film The Punisher (2004), Jane underwent intense military-style preparation, learning multiple martial arts and military psychology, including studying the ways of the Samurai. During filming, he stood at a height of 5 ft 10 in and weighed 170 pounds, having bulked up by 20 pounds.^[46][3]

Jane is known for his preference for going barefoot, including at film premieres and while on set.^[47][48]