Thomas G. Waites
| Thomas G. Waites | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 8, 1955 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Residence | New York City, New York |
| Occupation | Actor, director, playwright, teacher |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse(s) | Lisa Greenberg |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Thomas G. Waites (born January 8, 1955) is an American actor and acting instructor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Waites runs an acting studio in New York City which is named for him. He has been a member of the Actors Studio since 1984.
Waites was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Michael and Anne Waites. He completed grade school at Immaculate Conception and then high school at Bishop Egan in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. After one year at Bucks County Community College, he received a full scholarship for acting at the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied as a member of the Drama Division's Group 7 (1974–1978). Some of his classmates included Robin Williams, Christopher Reeve, and Frances Conroy. He received a B.A. degree in Writing from The New School and a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from the University of Iowa.
When Thomas was 21 years old, he was offered two movies simultaneously: Snowbound, directed by Robert Young, and Pity the Poor Soldier (the title has subsequently changed), directed by Bill Jersey. Despite the fact that he was offered twice the money for Snowbound, Waites chose Pity the Poor Soldier because it was in celebration of the centennial of the American Revolutionary War. Next Tom originated the roll of Oliver Treefe in Simon Gray's world premiere of Molly, at the First Annual Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. After this highly acclaimed performance he returned to NYC to be cast as the lead in the Joan Micklin Silver produced, On the Yard (1978) co-starring John Heard. Subsequently, Tom was offered a 3 picture option deal with Paramount Pictures. After very strong critical notices Tom auditioned for and got the lead in Walter Hill's, The Warriors (1979) playing the character Fox. After disputes with the director, Tom was fired from this film. Subsequently, when the studio asked him where he wanted his billing he told them to remove his name completely, a decision Tom regrets. He has since reconciled with Walter Hill. Three weeks after being fired from The Warriors Tom auditioned with Al Pacino, and was cast as Jeff McCullough in the Norman Jewison film, ...And Justice for All (1979). This began a long relationship with Pacino. The two worked together again in Shakespeare's Richard III, playing Richmond, where he received strong notices again. After that, Tom originated the role of Mitchell in Alan Bowne's Forty-Deuce Off-Broadway at the Perry Street Theatre. In 1982, Tom competed with actors such as Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon to land the role of Bobby in David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, American Buffalo. Kurt Russell and John Carpenter saw Tom's performance and cast him as Windows in the film The Thing (1982). Tom was cast in the Broadway premier of Trafford Tanzi, a musical where Tom sang with Deborah Harry of Blondie fame. Next was Pastorale, the Obie Award-winning play by Debra Eisenberg starring Judith Ivey and Christine Estabrook, playing the character of Steve.
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