When Waites 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 Waites originated the roll of Oliver Treefe in Simon Gray’s world premiere of Molly, at the First Annual Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C. After this highly acclaimed performance he returned to NYC to be cast in the Joan Micklin Silver-produced On the Yard (1978), co-starring John Heard. Subsequently, he was offered a three-picture option deal with Paramount Pictures. After very strong critical notices Waites auditioned for and got a part in Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1979) playing the character Fox. After disputes with the director, he 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 Waites 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, with Waites playing Richmond, where he received strong notices again. After that, Waites originated the role of Mitchell in Alan Bowne’s Forty-Deuce Off-Broadway at the Perry Street Theatre. In 1982, Waites competed with 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 his performance and cast him as Windows in the film The Thing (1982). Waites was cast in the Broadway premiere of Trafford Tanzi, a musical where he 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.

In 1983, Waits joined The Mirror Theater Ltd’s Mirror Repertory Company, performing in numerous repertory productions Off-Broadway at St. Peters Church throughout various seasons. His work with The Mirror included one of the highlights of Tom’s career: working with Geraldine Page in Clifford Odets’ Paradise Lost in the role of Kewpie, originated by Elia Kazan.

Tom next relocated to Los Angeles where he started the theatre company, TomCats. This is where he began his directing career. After two guest star appearances on NYPD Blue and some minor roles in small independent films and television shows, including a guest star in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mike Hammer, Private Eye with Stacy Keach and Sliders. At this time, Tom established himself as a top acting teacher. He opened the TGW Acting Studio in 2000 and his school continues to thrive today. He has coached such actors as Alfred Molina, Vinnie Pastore, Vinessa Shaw, Tim Guinee, Oliver Hudson and Jamie Harris. TGW Acting Studio was named the top school to study acting in New York City by Backstage in 2015. Tom directs and produces Off-Off-Broadway plays at his studio. Upon returning to New York, he directed the Off-Broadway hit Six Goumbas and a Wannabe, starring Annie McGovern and Kathrine Narducci. He also directed Golden Ladder (with Amy Redford) and numerous other Off and Off-Off-Broadway productions.