Tom Towles is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor.

Towles was born and raised in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. He became an actor after a stint in the U.S. Marines, beginning with an uncredited performance in Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Frank Pierson, and produced by Martin Bregman. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, Penny Allen, James Broderick, and Carol Kane. The title refers to the "dog days of summer".The film was...

(1975). He has appeared in film and television extensively since the 1980s. He is probably best known for his turn in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a 1986 crime horror film directed and co-written by John McNaughton about the random crime spree of a serial killer who seemingly operates with impunity. It stars Michael Rooker as the nomadic killer Henry, Tom Towles as Otis, a prison buddy with whom Henry is...

as a character modeled after Ottis Toole

Ottis Toole

Ottis Elwood Toole was an American serial killer, arsonist and cannibal. Toole was an accomplice of convicted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas...

, Henry Lee Lucas

Henry Lee Lucas

Henry Lee Lucas was an American criminal, convicted of murder in 189 cases and once listed as America's most prolific serial killer; he later recanted his confessions, despite professing information only the assailant would know and flatly stating "I'm a liar" in a letter to researcher Brad Shellady...

' reputed accomplice in several murders. He has also appeared in Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead (1990 film)

Night of the Living Dead is a 1990 American remake of George A. Romero's 1968 horror film of the same name and was directed by Tom Savini. Romero rewrote the original 1968 screenplay co-authored by John A...

, The Rock

The Rock (film)

The Rock is a 1996 action film that primarily takes place on Alcatraz Island and in the San Francisco Bay area. It was directed by Michael Bay and stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris. It was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and released through Hollywood Pictures. The film...

, Blood in Blood Out

Blood in Blood out

Blood In Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...

, House of 1000 Corpses

House of 1000 Corpses

House of 1000 Corpses is a 2003 exploitation horror film written and directed by Rob Zombie; it is his directorial debut. It was released in the United States on April 11, 2003 by Lions Gate Entertainment.-Plot:...

, and its sequel, The Devil's Rejects

The Devil's Rejects

The Devil's Rejects is a 2005 American horror film written and directed by Rob Zombie, and the sequel to his 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses. The film is about the family of psychopathic killers from the previous film now on the run...

. Recently Tom also portrayed a vicious drug trafficking Aryan gang leader in the big screen adaptation of Miami Vice

Miami Vice (film)

Miami Vice is a 2006 American crime drama film about two Miami police detectives, Crockett and Tubbs, who go undercover to fight drug trafficking operations. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name, written, produced, and directed by Michael Mann...

(he played a similar role as Aryan prison gang leader Red Rider in Blood In Blood Out

Blood in Blood out

Blood In Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...

) and had a cameo in one of the faux trailers Werewolf Women of the SS in Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse. His television credits include appearances in NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

, L.A. Law

L.A. Law

L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...

, ER

ER (TV series)

ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...

(in the episode "Dramatis Personae

Dramatis Personae (DS9 episode)

"Dramatis Personae" is the 18th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Overview:A "telepathic infection" sets the crew into two factions fighting against each other, with Kira leading the mutiny.-Plot:...

"), Star Trek Voyager, and Firefly

Firefly (TV series)

Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....

.

External links