He has appeared in several films, including True Lies (1994), Nine Months (1995), Big Bully, Carpool, The Stupids (all 1996), McHale's Navy (1997), Animal Factory (2000), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Mr. 3000 (2004), Happy Endings (2005), Pride (2007), The Great Buck Howard (2008), and Madea's Witness Protection (2011).

Soon Lori was a heavy drug user and dealer running one of the largest meth operations in the Midwest until her arrest in 1989.

[8] He attended Ottumwa High School, Indian Hills Community College, and from 1981 to 1983, the University of Iowa, where he studied business administration and writing.

[citation needed] The couple's marriage attracted media and especially tabloid attention due to their sometimes outrageous behavior.

In 1993, Arnold and Barr bought a house together in the town of Eldon, Iowa and opened a restaurant, 'Roseanne and Tom's Big Food Diner' nearby.

The last commercial that he filmed culminated in Arnold lying in a bed that caught on fire and melted a strand of his underarm hair during the taping; the footage was never released.

[13] In November 2000, Arnold played the role of Al Raymond in the second-season Baywatch Hawaii episode, "The Cage".

In a late 1990s interview on radio's The Howard Stern Show, Arnold admitted that his share of his and Barr's estate amounted to "over $20,000,000", including a percentage of the Roseanne ABC-TV series, but would not elaborate, citing a confidentiality clause.

[15] CMT also made three series of "My Big Redneck Vacation" presented by Arnold and featuring the Clampet Family from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Arnold's role as a child molester in Gardens of the Night sparked revelations that he had been a victim of sexual abuse in his childhood.

[citation needed] In June 2017, Arnold filed a lawsuit against companies Network Ten and 'A List Entertainment' for defrauding him for being on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.

[17] In 2018, Arnold's Viceland show The Hunt for the Trump Tapes premiered to low ratings and mainly negative reviews.

[28] Some sources say he converted to Judaism upon marrying Roseanne Barr in 1990,[29] but in a podcast interview with Andrew Santino he speaks of growing up Jewish in Iowa.

[35][36] On October 8 2020, Tom Arnold, his brother Scottie, and sister Lori reunited for the first time in 28 years, back together again in their hometown of Ottumwa, Iowa.