Tom Waits
Known for Acting · 89 credits
- Born
- 1949-12-07 (age 76)
- Place of birth
- Pomona, California, USA
- Also known as
- Thomas Alan Waits · 汤姆·威兹
Biography
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected greater influence from blues, rock, vaudeville, and experimental genres.
Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in Whittier, California. Inspired by the work of Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the San Diego folk music circuit as a young boy. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His first albums were the jazz-oriented Closing Time (1973) and The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), which reflected his lyrical interest in nightlife, poverty, and criminality. He repeatedly toured the United States, Europe, and Japan, and attracted greater critical recognition and commercial success with Small Change (1976), Blue Valentine (1978), and Heartattack and Vine (1980). He produced the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's film One from the Heart (1981), and subsequently made cameo appearances in several Coppola films.
In 1980, Waits married Kathleen Brennan, split from his manager and record label, and moved to New York City. With Brennan's encouragement and frequent collaboration, he pursued a more experimental and eclectic musical aesthetic influenced by the work of Harry Partch and Captain Beefheart. This was reflected in a series of albums released by Island Records, including Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), and Franks Wild Years (1987). He continued appearing in films, notably starring in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law (1986), and also made theatrical appearances. With theatre director Robert Wilson, he produced the musicals The Black Rider (1990) and Alice (1992), first performed in Hamburg. Having returned to California in the 1990s, his albums Bone Machine (1992), The Black Rider (1993), and Mule Variations (1999) earned him increasing critical acclaim and multiple Grammy Awards. In the late 1990s, he switched to the record label ANTI-, which released Blood Money (2002), Alice (2002), Real Gone (2004), and Bad as Me (2011).
Despite a lack of mainstream commercial success, Waits has influenced many musicians and gained an international cult following, and several biographies have been written about him. In 2015, he was ranked at No. 55 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Known For
TV Shows (9)
The Simpsons
1989
as Lloyd (voice)
The Daily Show
1996
as Self
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Musical Guest
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Musical Guest
Austin City Limits
1975
as Self
Rockpalast
1974
Ultra City Smiths
2021
as The Narrator (voice)
Fishing with John
1991
as Self
Movies (80)
Bram Stoker's Dracula
1992
as R.M. Renfield
The Book of Eli
2010
as Engineer
The Outsiders
1983
as Buck Merrill
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2018
as Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon")
Seven Psychopaths
2012
as Zachariah Rigby
Licorice Pizza
2021
as Rex Blau
Father Mother Sister Brother
2025
as Father
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
as (archive footage)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
2009
as Devil
Mystery Men
1999
as Doc Heller
Domino
2005
as Wanderer
The Dead Don't Die
2019
as Hermit Bob
Short Cuts
1993
as Earl Piggot
The Cotton Club
1984
as Irving Stark
The Fisher King
1991
as Disabled Vet (uncredited)
Motherless Brooklyn
2019
as News Stand Owner (uncredited)
Wildwood
2026
as (voice)
Coffee and Cigarettes
2004
as Tom (segment "Somewhere in California")
Mystery Train
1989
as Radio DJ (voice)
Ironweed
1987
as Rudy
Until the End of the World
1991
as Singer in Bar
Wild Horse Nine
2026
Rumble Fish
1983
as Benny
The Two Jakes
1990
as Plainclothes Policeman (uncredited)
Paradise Alley
1978
as Mumbles
Wristcutters: A Love Story
2007
as Kneller
Wolfen
1981
as Drunken Bar Owner (uncredited)
Ray Gunn
as Eyera (voice)
Twixt
2011
as Narrator (voice)
The Tiger and the Snow
2005
as Self / Sè stesso
One from the Heart
1982
as Trumpet player (uncredited)
The Old Man & the Gun
2018
as Waller
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
1991
as Wolf
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
1988
as Self - Organ/Guitar
Down by Law
1986
as Zack
Queens Logic
1991
as Monte
The Absence of Eden
2024
as Hunley
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country
1993
as Self
Candy Mountain
1988
as Al Silk
Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter
1990
as Self
The Stone Boy
1984
as Petrified man at carnival (uncredited)
Cold Feet
1989
as Kenny
Bukowski: Born Into This
2003
as Self
Roy Orbison: Black and White Night 30
2017
as Self
Greasy Lake
1988
as Narrator
Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
2022
as Self
Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale
1989
as Silva
Keith Richards: Under the Influence
2015
as Self
Tom Waits: Tales from a Cracked Jukebox
2017
as Self
Tom Waits: Big Time
1988
as Self
Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight
1997
as Narrator (voice)
John Lurie: A Lounge Lizard Alone
1990
as Zack (Archive footage)
Coffee and Cigarettes III
1997
as Tom
The Making of 'One from the Heart'
1982
as Self
The Monster of Nix
2011
as Virgil (Voice)
Poetry in Motion
1982
as Self
A Brief History of John Baldessari
2012
as Narrator
Tom Waits: Under Review
2008
as Self
The Last Ride
2025
as Self
One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur
2008
as Self
Tom Waits - Live On The Tube
1985
as Self
Tom Waits: Elephant Beer Blues - Songs After Closing Time
1976
as Self
This Is Sparklehorse
2022
as Self
Star.Wav
as The Caller
The Laughing Heart
2013
as Narrator
Tom Waits for No One
1979
as Self
Tom Waits - Live at Premio Tenco in Sanremo Italy
1986
as Himself
Tom Waits: No Visitors After Midnight
1979
as Self
Tom Waits: Rockpalast '77
1977
as Self
The Moon’s Milk
2018
as Captain Millipede (voice)
![Tom Waits - Burma Shave [Live Concert]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw300%2FlxpmTfyfn20JnsbJmjfUKlT7ugU.jpg&w=1920&q=65)
Tom Waits - Burma Shave [Live Concert]
2006
as Self
Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Concert Experience
2024
as Self
Tom Waits: Romeo Bleeding - Live from Austin
2009
as Self
Human Nature in Eleven Parts
2025
as Narrator "Laughing Heart" (archive footage)
Tom Waits - Bridge School Benefit
1999
as Self
Tom Waits - One Star Shining : The First Decade
as Self
Tom Waits at Theatre le Palace
1980
as Self
Tom Waits: VH1 Storytellers
1999
as Self
Tom Waits: A Day in Vienna
1978
as Self
Tom Waits - Dead Man Walking, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1998
as Self
About Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected greater influence from blues, rock, vaudeville, and experimental genres. Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in Whittier, California. Inspired by the work of Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the San Diego folk musi… With 89 credits spanning from 1961 to 2026, Tom Waits has appeared in 80 films and 9 TV shows.
Fans searching for Tom Waits movies, Tom Waits filmography, or the latest projects starring Tom Waits can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Tom Waits Movies
- Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) — as R.M. Renfield
- The Book of Eli (2010) — as Engineer
- The Outsiders (1983) — as Buck Merrill
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) — as Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon")
- Seven Psychopaths (2012) — as Zachariah Rigby
Where to Watch Tom Waits Films
Most Tom Waits movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Tom Waits, check our movies catalogue and browse page.