After one year at Bucks County Community College, he received a full scholarship for acting at the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied as a member of the Drama Division's Group 7 (1974–1977).

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 bicentennial of the American Revolutionary War.

Next Waites originated the role 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.

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).

In 1982, Waites competed with Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon to land the role of Bobby in David Mamet's play American Buffalo.

Tom G. Waites began writing music and formed a band called The Pushups, playing gigs around NYC in clubs such as CBGB's, Limelight, Traxs, The Bitter End, and even opening for The Smithereens.

Tom next played Otis Price, the babystealer in ABC's All My Children for approximately 9 months, while performing Israel Horovitz's North Shore Fish at the WPA Theater in NYC alongside John Pankow, Christine Estabrook, Wendie Malick, and Laura San Giacomo.

Tom also made guest appearances in such popular television shows as Kojak (with Telly Savalas), Miami Vice, and two episodes of The Equalizer.

Fox and Joan Jett, and was then cast as Al Capone, competing with actors like Harvey Keitel for the film Gangland (1987) with Scott Glenn.

Waites has coached such actors as Alfred Molina, Vinnie Pastore, Vinessa Shaw, Tim Guinee, Oliver Hudson, and Jamie Harris.

A prolific director, Waites most recently directed the play A White Man's Guide to Rikers Island, which had a successful run in New York City in 2022.