Tom Waits
Actor | Composer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." With this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music, Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona. He has worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including Down By Law, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Wristcutters: A Love Story. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work on One from the Heart.
Lyrically, Waits' songs frequently present atmospheric portrayals of grotesque, often seedy characters and places – although he has also shown a penchant for ... Show more...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." With this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music, Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona. He has worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including Down By Law, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Wristcutters: A Love Story. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work on One from the Heart.
Lyrically, Waits' songs frequently present atmospheric portrayals of grotesque, often seedy characters and places – although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional ballads. He has a cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters despite having little radio or music video support. His songs are best-known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists: "Jersey Girl", performed by Bruce Springsteen, "Ol' 55", performed by the Eagles, and "Downtown Train", performed by Rod Stewart. Although Waits' albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries. He has been nominated for a number of major music awards and has won Grammy Awards for two albums, Bone Machine and Mule Variations. In 2010, Waits was chosen to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Waits currently lives in Sonoma County, California with his wife, Kathleen Brennan, and three children.
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Filmography - Acting
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The Dead Don't Die (2019)
As: Hermit Bob
In a small peaceful town, zombies suddenly rise to terrorize the town. Now three bespectacled police officers and a strange Scottish morgue expert must band together to defeat the undead.
Runtime: 104 min.
Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Chloë Sevigny | Bill Murray | Selena Gomez | Austin Butler | Adam Driver
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
As: Prospector
An anthology film weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War.
Runtime: 133 min.
Directed by: Joel Coen | Ethan Coen
Stars: Brendan Gleeson | James Franco | Liam Neeson | Tom Waits | Tim Blake Nelson
The Old Man & the Gun (2018)
As: Waller
The true story of Forrest Tucker, from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Wrapped up in the pursuit are a detective, who becomes captivated with Forrest’s commitment to his craft, and a woman, who loves him in spite of his chosen profession.
Runtime: 93 min.
Directed by: David Lowery
Stars: Danny Glover | Tika Sumpter | Robert Redford | Casey Affleck | Sissy Spacek
Tom Waits: Tales from a Cracked Jukebox (2017)
Tom Waits is one of the most original musicians of the last five decades. Renowned for his gravelly voice and dazzling mix of musical styles, he's also one of modern music's most enigmatic and influential artists. Using rare archive, audio recordings and interviews, this film is a bewitching after-hours trip through the surreal, moonlit world of Waits' music - a portrait of a pioneering musician and his ...
Runtime: 60 min.
Directed by: James Maycock
Stars: Terry Gilliam | Tom Waits | Ute Lemper | Marianne Faithfull | Ralph Carney
Keith Richards: Under the Influence (2015)
As: Himself
A portrait of Keith Richards that takes us on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer.
Runtime: 81 min.
Directed by: Morgan Neville
Stars: Tom Waits | Buddy Guy | Keith Richards | Steve Jordan | Waddy Wachtel
The Laughing Heart (2013)
As: Narrator
From a Charles Bukowski poem
Runtime: 2 min.
Directed by: Travis Carr
Stars: Tom Waits
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
As: Zachariah Rigby
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
Runtime: 110 min.
Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Stars: Colin Farrell | Sam Rockwell | Tom Waits | Woody Harrelson | Christopher Walken
Twixt (2012)
As: The narrator
A writer with a declining career arrives in a small town as part of his book tour and gets caught up in a murder mystery involving a young girl. That night in a dream, he is approached by a mysterious young ghost named V. He's unsure of her connection to the murder in the town, but is grateful for the story being handed to him. Ultimately he is led to the truth of the story, surprised to find ...
Runtime: 88 min.
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Ben Chaplin | Val Kilmer | Elle Fanning | Joanne Whalley | Bruce Dern
A Brief History of John Baldessari (2012)
As: Narrator
The epic life of a world-class artist, jammed into six minutes.
Runtime: 6 min.
Directed by: Ariel Schulman | Henry Joost
Stars: Tom Waits | John Baldessari
The Book of Eli (2010)
As: Engineer
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
Runtime: 118 min.
Directed by: Allen Hughes | Albert Hughes
Stars: Gary Oldman | Denzel Washington | Mila Kunis | Ray Stevenson | Jennifer Beals
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
As: Devil
A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.
Runtime: 123 min.
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Stars: Heath Ledger | Colin Farrell | Jude Law | Christopher Plummer | Johnny Depp
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)
As: Kneller
Zia, distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, decides to end it all. Unfortunately, he discovers that there is no real ending, only a run-down afterlife that is strikingly similar to his old one, just a bit worse. Discovering that his ex-girlfriend has also "offed" herself, he sets out on a road trip, with his Russian rocker friend, to find her. Their journey takes them through an ...
Runtime: 88 min.
Directed by: Goran Dukic
Stars: Shea Whigham | Leslie Bibb | Shannyn Sossamon | Will Arnett | Patrick Fugit
The Tiger and the Snow (2005)
As: Himself / Sè stesso
Love and injury in time of war. Attilio de Giovanni teaches poetry in Italy. He has a romantic soul, and women love him. But he is in love with Vittoria, and the love is unrequited. Every night he dreams of marrying her, in his boxer shorts and t-shirt, as Tom Waits sings. Vittoria travels to Iraq with her friend, Fuad, a poet; they are there with the second Gulf War breaks out. Vittoria is ...
Runtime: 114 min.
Directed by: Roberto Benigni
Stars: Giuseppe Battiston | Tom Waits | Emilia Fox | Roberto Benigni | Nicoletta Braschi
Domino (2005)
As: The Wanderer
The daughter of actor, Laurence Harvey turns away from her career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter.
Runtime: 127 min.
Directed by: Tony Scott
Stars: Keira Knightley | Mickey Rourke | Delroy Lindo | Mo'Nique | Edgar Ramírez
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
As: Tom
Coffee And Cigarettes is a collection of eleven films from cult director Jim Jarmusch. Each film hosts star studded cast of extremely unique individuals who all share the common activities of conversing while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.
Runtime: 95 min.
Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Steve Buscemi | Joie Lee | Steven Wright | Roberto Benigni | Cinqué Lee
Bukowski - Born into This (2003)
Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski, Bukowski: Born Into This, is as much a touching portrait of the author as it is an exposé of his sordid lifestyle. Interspersed between ample vintage footage of Bukowski’s poetry readings are interviews with the poet’s fans including such legendary figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Fante (wife of ...
Runtime: 138 min.
Directed by: John Dullaghan
Stars: Harry Dean Stanton | Bono | Sean Penn | Charles Bukowski | Linda Bukowski
Mystery Men (1999)
As: Doc Heller
When Champion City's hero Captain Amazing is kidnapped by the recently paroled supervillain Casanova Frankenstein, a trio of average, everyday superheroes -- Mr. Furious, the Shoveler and the Blue Raja -- assemble a new super team to save him.
Runtime: 121 min.
Directed by: Kinka Usher
Stars: Claire Forlani | Hank Azaria | William H. Macy | Ben Stiller | Geoffrey Rush
Short Cuts (1993)
As: Earl Piggot
Multi-storied, fish-eyed look at American culture with some 22 characters intersecting--profoundly or fleetingly--through each other's lives. Running the emotional gamut from disturbing to humorous, Altman's portrait of the contemporary human condition is nevertheless fascinating. Based on nine stories and a prose poem by Raymond Carver.
Runtime: 188 min.
Directed by: Robert Altman
Stars: Tim Robbins | Andie MacDowell | Julianne Moore | Anne Archer | Jack Lemmon
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1993)
As: Himself
A documentary insight behind the scenes of Roberts Altman's Short Cuts.
Runtime: 90 min.
Directed by: John Dorr | Mike Kaplan
Stars: Tim Robbins | Matthew Modine | Fred Ward | Jennifer Jason Leigh | Robert Altman
Dracula (1992)
As: R.M. Renfield
When Dracula leaves the captive Jonathan Harker and Transylvania for London in search of Mina Harker -- the spitting image of Dracula's long-dead wife, Elisabeta -- obsessed vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing sets out to end the madness.
Runtime: 128 min.
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Gary Oldman | Keanu Reeves | Anthony Hopkins | Richard E. Grant | Winona Ryder
At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)
As: Wolf
Martin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of South America to convert the Indians. Their remote mission was previously run by the Catholics, before the natives murdered them all. They are sent by the pompous Leslie Huben, who runs the missionary effort in the area but who seems more concerned about competing with his Catholic 'rivals' than in the Indians ...
Runtime: 189 min.
Directed by: Hector Babenco
Stars: Tom Berenger | Aidan Quinn | Tom Waits | John Lithgow | Daryl Hannah
The Fisher King (1991)
As: Disabled Vet
Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.
Runtime: 138 min.
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Stars: Jeff Bridges | Michael Jeter | Robin Williams | Amanda Plummer | Mercedes Ruehl
Queens Logic (1991)
As: Monte
When childhood friends Al, Dennis and Eliot get together for Ray's wedding, which may or may not happen, they end up on a roller-coaster ride through reality. During one tumultuous, crazy weekend, they face adulthood and each other with new found maturity and discover what Queens Logic is all about. This comedy takes a look at friendship, loyalty, and love.
Runtime: 100 min.
Directed by: Steve Rash
Stars: John Malkovich | Kevin Bacon | Joe Mantegna | Jamie Lee Curtis | Linda Fiorentino
The Two Jakes (1990)
As: Plainclothes Policeman
This sequel to the classic Chinatown finds private detective Jake Gittes still haunted from the events of the first film. Hired by a man to investigate his wife's infidelities, Jake once again finds himself involved in a complicated plot involving murder, oil, and even some ghosts from his past.
Runtime: 137 min.
Directed by: Jack Nicholson
Stars: Harvey Keitel | Rubén Blades | Madeleine Stowe | Meg Tilly | Jack Nicholson
Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale (1989)
As: Silva
Johnny Fortune (Damon Lowry) is no good to anyone, not mean, but just no good. Surrounded by violence and dishonesty, Johnny lives with Kate. Johnny messes up, he loses a lot of money, his girlfriend Kate's money. Alone, desperate and on the run from a couple of hit-men, he applies for a job as an entertainer's assistant becoming a dancing bear. Unwittingly learning of secrets around him, his ...
Runtime: 95 min.
Directed by: Eduardo Guedes | Ann Guedes
Stars: Tom Waits | Bill Paterson | Charlotte Coleman | Júlia Britton | Damon Lowry
Mystery Train (1989)
As: Radio D.J
A seedy hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, provides the backdrop for three separate tales, featuring everything from a kitsch-obsessed Japanese couple to a trio of amateur robbers who discover the true nature of their relationship during a botched heist. Linking the stories together is the hotel's eccentric and creepy night clerk as well as the spirit of Elvis Presley.
Runtime: 110 min.
Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Steve Buscemi | Joe Strummer | Masatoshi Nagase | Nicoletta Braschi | Youki Kudoh
Cold Feet (1989)
As: Kenny
The leader of a group of misfits, his girlfriend and an assassin have devised a bizarre plan to smuggle stolen jewelry over the US/Mexican border. They implant the jewelry in a racing horse.
Runtime: 94 min.
Directed by: Robert Dornhelm
Stars: Bill Pullman | Keith Carradine | Tom Waits | Sally Kirkland | Rip Torn
Big Time (1989)
Bringing his unique sense of humor to this bizarre and original piece of moviemaking, Tom Waits takes the audience through a musical journey with his jazzy, quirky, bluesy tunes presented as you would never, ever, ever expect.
Runtime: 87 min.
Directed by: Chris Blum
Stars: Tom Waits
Candy Mountain (1988)
As: Al Silk
A mediocre musician goes on the road in search of the world's greatest guitar maker
Runtime: 91 min.
Directed by: Rudy Wurlitzer | Robert Frank
Stars: Harris Yulin | Joe Strummer | Tom Waits | Bulle Ogier | Kevin J. O'Connor
Ironweed (1987)
As: Rudy
Albany, New York, Halloween, 1938. Francis Phelan and Helen Archer are bums, back in their birth city. She was a singer on the radio, he a major league pitcher. Death surrounds them: she's sick, a pal has cancer, he digs graves at the cemetery and visits the grave of his infant son whom he dropped; visions of his past haunt him, including ghosts of two men he killed. That night, out drinking, Helen tries ...
Runtime: 143 min.
Directed by: Hector Babenco
Stars: Tom Waits | Nathan Lane | Meryl Streep | Jack Nicholson | Carroll Baker
Down by Law (1986)
As: Zack
A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
Runtime: 107 min.
Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Ellen Barkin | Tom Waits | Roberto Benigni | Nicoletta Braschi | John Lurie
The Cotton Club (1984)
As: Irving Stark
The story of the people that frequented Harlem's famous nightclubs, 'The Cotton Club', and those that ran it.
Runtime: 127 min.
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Bob Hoskins | Diane Lane | Richard Gere | Gregory Hines | Lonette McKee
Streetwise (1984)
As: Himself
Portrays the lives of nine desperate teenagers. Thrown too young into a seedy grown up world, these runaways and castaways survive, but just barely. Rat, the dumpster diver. Tiny, the teen prostitute. Shellie, the baby-faced blonde. DeWayne, the hustler. All old beyond their years. All underage survivors fighting for life and love on the streets of downtown Seattle.
Runtime: 91 min.
Directed by: Martin Bell
Stars: Tom Waits | Roberta Joseph Hayes
Rumble Fish (1983)
As: Benny
Rusty James, an absent-minded street thug struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days when gang warfare was going on.
Runtime: 94 min.
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Mickey Rourke | Diane Lane | Matt Dillon | Dennis Hopper | Diana Scarwid
The Outsiders (1983)
As: Buck Merrill
When two poor greasers, Johnny, and Ponyboy are assaulted by a vicious gang, the socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to mount between the two rival gangs, setting off a turbulent chain of events.
Runtime: 91 min.
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Matt Dillon | C. Thomas Howell | Patrick Swayze | Ralph Macchio | Rob Lowe
Poetry in Motion (1982)
More than 20 contemporary North American poets recite, sing, and perform their work. Several also comment. Early in the film, Charles Bukowski talks about the energy of poets and of a poem. These poets are energetic performers, and their poems are meant to be heard. These poets are the children of Walt Whitman and of Charles Olson, incantatory and oratorical, radical, sometimes incorporating contemporary ...
Runtime: 91 min.
Directed by: Ron Mann
Stars: William S. Burroughs | Jim Carroll | John Cage | Charles Bukowski | Robert Creeley
Wolfen (1981)
As: Drunken bar owner
A New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks.
Runtime: 115 min.
Directed by: Michael Wadleigh
Stars: Edward James Olmos | Albert Finney | Gregory Hines | Tom Noonan | Diane Venora
Paradise Alley (1978)
As: Mumbles
Sylvester Stallone is fighting the odds again, this time in the wrestling ring. As Cosmo Carboni, he and his two brothers dream of getting out of Hell's Kitchen (circa 1946) and into the big time. The exit signs point to Paradise Alley, a sleazy private club where the floorshow consists of raucous wrestling matches with big purses. Stallone not only starred in and wrote this action-packed film, he also ...
Runtime: 107 min.
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Stars: Armand Assante | Sylvester Stallone | Anne Archer | Frank McRae | Lee Canalito
Tom Waits: A Day in Vienna (1978)
As: himself
Short documentary film on the great and powerful Tom Waits, including clips from live performances and interviews.
Runtime: 30 min.
Directed by: Rudi Dolezal | Hannes Rossacher
Stars: Tom Waits