Tom Atkins is an American television and film actor. He is primarily known for his work in the horror film genre, having worked with writers and directors such as John Carpenter, Stephen King, and George A. Romero. He is also a familiar face to mainstream viewers, often playing police officers. Atkins was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Dorothy E. and George C. Atkins. During his childhood, Atkins was a fan of horror and science fiction, one of his best loved films being the Howard Hawks classic The Thing from Another World. He initially had no desire to be an actor. His father... worked in a Steel Mill in Pennsylvania and Atkins assumed that he would follow in his father's footsteps. He then enlisted in the Navy and 'noticed that the officers lived great, but that was only because they had gone to college' and so, after leaving the Navy, Atkins signed up for college where he met a girl who was involved in a theatre group. Tom attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and was a member of the Gamma Phi Fraternity. He says: 'I was in my 20s already when I got interested in acting and I liked it a lot'.
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