“Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles.”
- Charlie Chaplin
NameThomas Richard Eames
NicknamesTom, Tommy, y’know, the usual. Seriously, what else can you get from Thomas?
Age37
GenderMale
Sexual OrientationBisexual
OccupationCinematographer
AppearanceStanding at a perfectly average 5’9”, Tommy isn’t as big and scary as he appears from afar. The combination of distance, tattoos, and a strong, solid physique lends him the illusion of appearing taller than he actually is – not that it’s ever bothered him much. He is, after all, an adult, and that means he has better things to worry about. Like taxes. And his mortgage.
Tommy’s eyes are a darker shade of blue, and he often bares his crooked teeth in a too-wide grin. There is a small scar under his right eye from when he’d gotten slapped by an ex-girlfriend while she was holding a set of car keys (not something he likes to talk about).
Recently, he’s taken to getting his head shaved at the sides, though it’s mostly out of convenience rather than any real desire to look his best. All the same, it’s undeniable that he’d almost be handsome in a gruff sort of way if you could actually see his face underneath that beard of his. Often times, you’ll find Tommy dressed in Lacoste or Ralph Lauren polo shirts along with khaki slacks. Basically, “golf dad” is kind of his aesthetic – he’s even got the Rolex watch to go along with it.
His tattoos, however, are a whole ‘nother situation altogether. Just get a look at him without his shirt. Not every single one has meaning, but for those that do, he’d be happy to explain, if asked. To name a few particularly visible ones, he has the words “LOVE” and “HATE” tattooed across his knuckles, a tribal half-sleeve on his left upper arm (hey, he got that when he was eighteen, don’t judge), crashing waves on his right, a cross over his left pectoral, a small, black crown on the side of his right hand, and finally, feathery wings on the backs of his shoulder blades.
“That sounds fucking ridiculous – I want in.”
PersonalityTommy enjoys a cigarette and a bottle of whiskey on the weekends, loves his dog a little too much, and could probably do with seeing a barber more than once every six months. But for all his tactlessness, he really does mean well. When he asks a question, he really does want to know the answer, and when loves, he loves pretty ferociously. Then again, growing up with such a supportive parent will probably do that to a person.
His sense of humor, however sarcastic and crude, will never fail to bring a smile to people’s faces, and even if that doesn’t work, his laugh is deathly infectious. Tommy is one of those guys you hate to love, and he knows it well. Even so, he can be unpredictable, adamant, and dislikes making commitments, especially those he is not sure he can keep. But whatever one might be led to believe, Tommy is an extremely passionate, and emotional person. When he truly takes interest in something (or someone), he puts all of himself into it, and momentarily forgets about everything else.
This, however, means that he is very bad at relationships – really, really bad. He often comes as pushy and overly aggressive, in both his work and his life outside of it. One of Tommy’s defining traits is his volatility. Some days, he almost seems like a ticking time-bomb, ready to explode at a moment’s notice. If things don’t go according to plan, his temper often manages to get the best of him. It’s something he’s trying to work on, of course, though he knows that it isn’t going very well.
Likes- Dogs
- Pumpkin spice lattes
- Cold weather
- Sushi
- Working out
- Awful pop music
Dislikes- Quinoa
- Reality TV
- Salad
- Hypocrisy
- Planes (Or flying, in general.)
- Kids
FearsAbove all else, Tommy fears never amounting to anything. He’s already let one opportunity slip through his grasp, the last thing he needs is for history to repeat itself.
“Okay, yeah. It’s not that you’re wrong, it’s just… you’re extremely not right.”
Strengths- Honest
- Enthusiastic
- Decisive
- Hardworking
- Friendly
Weaknesses- Blunt
- Disorganised
- Stubborn
- Aggressive
- Reckless
HistoryTommy was born on a sunny August day to Mary Anne Eames, a young waitress from Toronto. Mary’s religious upbringing had, unfortunately, left her homeless as soon as her parents realised their “sinner” of a daughter had gotten herself pregnant out of wedlock, not a boyfriend to be found. Fortunately, Mary had a friend living in Michigan, and while she hadn’t the time or money to get herself an education, she was able to raise her son with a roof over their heads whilst she continued to work.
Tommy’s first brush with the industry happened when he was 11, when a film company shot scenes for a movie in his neighbourhood. He was fascinated by the crew setting up lights and cameras, and soon sought to do the same. With all the grace and enthusiasm of a child tearing open his Christmas presents (which incidentally, included a second-hand camera that year), he began shooting his very own collection of home movies and short films.
After graduating high school, Tommy found a job as a production assistant at a TV station. Which, in layman’s terms, translated to getting bossed around by his superiors while he did all the grunt work. Within a couple of months, however, he managed to work his way up from fetching coffee to shooting low-budget PSAs for $125 a week as a cameraman. Tommy eventually moved on to doing some freelance work when the routine got old, though most of the time, he was recruited as a grip or electrician, and he was dying to get behind a camera again.
Then, at the age of twenty-one, Tommy managed to put together an impressive enough resume and demo reel that earned him a full-ride scholarship to the American Film Institute in LA. During his second year, a collaborative short film made by him and a couple of his classmates earned itself a place at Sundance.
Once he’d graduated from AFI, with both a degree and work experience under his belt, Tommy found it a hell of a lot easier to get the jobs he wanted. Not that it was always ever a smooth ride, he’d had to deal with his fair share of rejection along the way, and the only reason he managed to pull through was because he had thick skin. But soon enough, he was earning enough money to move his mom from their crummy, one-room apartment in Detroit to a nice house in the suburbs.
Of course, as the saying went, all good things must come to an end. His mere involvement in a critically panned film in the 2004 was enough to cast a questionable shade on his reputation, and for years, Tommy was stuck in a quagmire of terrible B-movies.
It’d taken no small amount of luck (and shameless self-promotion), but finally, in the summer of 2012, an up-and-coming director decided to take a chance on Tommy, hiring him as the director of photography for an ambitious, neo-noir thriller. Tommy drew on his prior experiences, and just like that - his unique, stylistic approach to the lighting and framing of characters, combined with great creative direction from the director - won the film an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Since then, things have been looking up for him. While some still have their doubts about Tommy, thinking of him as a one-hit wonder, his latest work has seen him stepping up his game. He knows what’s on the line, and getting complacent simply isn’t an option. (Insert Name Here) will be the second, big-name feature film he’s worked on since his comeback.
Favorite memoryWinning that Academy Award, of course. Sometimes, he still finds it hard to believe that it wasn’t just something he dreamt up.
Least favorite memoryThe low point of his career, when the only work he could get was shooting awful movies for awful cable TV.
Why did you decide to work for this movie?Why wouldn’t he? Even with an Oscar under his belt, he still finds it kind of surreal that he’d been offered a gig for something as big as this.
“To be honest with you, I only ever listen to about a third of what you say.”
BirthdayAugust 25th, 1978
Astrological SignVirgo
Twitter NameTwitter: @TommyEames78
Instagram: @ThomasEames
(Because he’s just that creative.)
MiscellaneousNever Have I Ever > Into The Wrong Hands > Soulmates
(Also, he owns a Pitbull named Rocco, just as an FYI.)
“This little man just walked into my apartment. No tags, no collar... So, I guess I have a dog now.”