Overview (4)

Born April 15, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Birth Name Thomas Francis Wilson Jr. Nickname Tom Height 6' 2½" (1.89 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Tom Wilson is a creative artist whose professional career has explored almost every imaginable artistic discipline, blending them into a unique and very individual declaration of a life in the arts. A man of fervent but private faith his whole life, the last few years have been interesting, with hundreds of invitations to speak at conferences and retreats, as well as the opportunity to record the music that he began playing in church in the 1970s. Tom has enjoyed a successful career as an actor, writer and comedian for over 20 years. He has more than 50 films, television shows and comedy specials to his credit, and has appeared on talk shows with everyone from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno to David Letterman to Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford. As a voice-over actor, he has worked in dozens of animated series, including many episodes of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob Schwammkopf (1999). As a comedian he has been a regular performer at the world-famous Improv and Comedy Store since the day he arrived in Hollywood. His self-written one-man show, "Cowboy Tommy," boasted a series of sold-out engagements. He continues to act in movies and television, and he performs comedy and music at theaters across America. As a writer and producer, he's written for several prestigious literary magazines, as well as for Universal Studios, Disney, Fox and Film Roman studios, and produced a groundbreaking series of debates for Canadian television called "The Seven Deadly Sins", which examined cultural values and the role of the arts within them. As an avocation, he is a photographer and painter, with a photograph in the permanent collection of the California Museum of Photography and paintings on the walls of the guest bedrooms of many close personal friends (or, as artists like to say, "in many private collections.") Actor, comedian, writer, musician, and artist - Tom Wilson has transcended the limitations of pop-cultural celebrity to become an artist of honesty, gravity and grace. Thomas is a graduate of Radnor high school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was known for his comedic personality.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: TomWilsonUSA.com

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (1)



His role as Biff Tannen in the Zurück in die Zukunft (1985) movies.

Trivia (13)

Has four children: Anna May Wilson, Emily Wilson, Gracie Wilson and Tommy Wilson.





Although he is probably best known for playing bully Biff Tannen in the Zurück in die Zukunft (1985) trilogy, he is said to be a very nice man in real life who drew upon his own personal experiences of being bullied as a child to create the Biff persona.

Attended and graduated from Radnor High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania (1977).



Studied international business at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.





Has appeared in an episode of the comedy series Psych (2006) entitled "Let's Get Hairy" and in a movie called Holt Harry raus! (1986).



Often received fanmail meant for Tom Wilson , creator of the Ziggy comic strip.



He was awarded the 1991 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor as Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen in Zurück in die Zukunft III (1990).

He paints many portraits of classic children's toys. He was selected to join the California Featured Artists Series at Disneyland (2006).



Attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York City.





Good friends with actor Marc McClure

Personal Quotes (4)



[on the appeal of Biff in the Zurück in die Zukunft (1985) movies] People love the character because ultimately Biff is a failure. Biff doesn't win in the end, which is why people like him. He's this horrible guy throughout the movie, but you can be pretty confident that he's going to get slugged in the head and be unconscious at the end.

[on his past decision to not sign Back to the Future memorabilia] I've decided to do what I want to do in life, and follow my own path as an artist, so I've decided not to participate in any sort of nostalgia in which I'm marginalized as a popular icon of yesteryear. I no longer support in any way an insurmountable archetype, and now exclusively pursue the things that interest me.



[on how Biff was a reflection of bullies who tormented him] A thin and sickly kid, I was pushed around and beaten up by bullies throughout my childhood, until I grew bigger than everybody and it stopped, I knew very well how they operate, and specifically the joy they take in scaring people. I'd stared them in the face so often that it wasn't particularly challenging to do an impression.



[on how he overcame his biggest bully: himself] The interchanges would have - of course, most of them were positive, and most people understand the movie, but there were plenty where the guys would want to put me in a headlock, or push me around a bit, or get into a little tussle with 'that tough guy from Back to the Future, because he's not that tough after all'. Well, I'm not that tough after all, because I'm an actor: because it's pretend! And I think that social media, the greater intimacy, maybe - I mean, part of it is false intimacy, but part of it's real intimacy; you can go see things as an actor, that's why I do the YouTube thing, to present 'this is me as a person', that the audience, now, the popular cultural audience, is a more sophisticated audience and a more multi-faceted audience.

