Thomas Booker is an American actor, writer, director, and improvisational comedian. He is best known for his role as Keel Lorenz in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth its sequel

The End of Evangelion is a 1997 Japanese anime science fiction film written by Hideaki Anno, directed by Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki, and animated by Gainax and Production I.G. It serves as an alternate ending to the television series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', wh ...

and the Amazon redub of

Rebuild of Evangelion ''Rebuild of Evangelion'', known in Japan and on Amazon Prime Video as , is a Japanese animated film series and a retelling of the original ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' anime television series, produced by Studio Khara. Hideaki Anno served as ...

. He is also the owner of The Institution Theater in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

Early life

Booker was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

where he graduated from

Nathan Hale High School Nathan Hale High School may refer to: * Nathan Hale High School (Oklahoma), United States * Nathan Hale High School (Washington), United States * Nathan Hale High School (Wisconsin), United States * Nathan Hale-Ray High School, Connecticut ...

. As an undergraduate, he was "Top Dawg",

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

's mascot. He moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and, in 1986, began studying improvisation at

The Second City Training Center The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world famous The Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. Satelli ...

before studying with legendary improv guru

Del Close Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was ...

ImprovOlympic iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as "ImprovOlympic") is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago, with a former branch in Los Angeles, called iO West and in Raleigh, North Carolina called iO South. The theater taught and hosted ...

Career

Booker moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1991 and formed Theater-A-Go-Go! with Laura Hall. In 1994 Booker made his television debut as Jinxo in the

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

episode, "

Grail The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program which used high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure. The two small spacecraf ...

". He also began teaching improv and sketch writing at The Second City Training Center in Los Angeles. His movie debut came in a minor role in the 1995 film

Jury Duty Jury duty or jury service is service as a juror in a legal proceeding. Juror selection process The prosecutor and defense can dismiss potential jurors for various reasons, which can vary from one state to another, and they can have a specific ...

. In 2001 he had the voice role of Keel Lorenz in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth and its sequel

he later reprised the role in the Amazon redub of

. He had another minor role in the 1998

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

The Thin Pink Line ''The Thin Pink Line'' is a 1998 mockumentary directed by Joe Dietl and Michael Irpino. The title is a parody of Errol Morris' documentary '' The Thin Blue Line'', which raised questions about the conviction of a prison inmate on death row. Cast ...

as a wet underwear contestant. Tom also co-wrote and co-directed (with producing partner Jon Kean) the feature film

Kill the Man ''Kill the Man'' is a 1999 American comedy film starring Luke Wilson and Joshua Malina as the owners of an independent photocopier shop who are in competition with a large chain of copy-shops. Cast * Luke Wilson as Stanley Simon * Joshua Mal ...

starring

Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), ''My Dog Skip'' (2000), ''Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), ''Id ...

, which premiered at the 1999

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. He also played the role of Biily Bob in the film.

Filmography

Film and television

Web

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booker, Tom Male actors from Oklahoma Living people University of Oklahoma alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Year of birth missing (living people)