Tom was born in London, England to parents Nick Tate and Hazel Tate. His family moved to Melbourne, Australia where his father Nick, an actor, would work in film and TV for the next 3 years. When he was five the family moved back to Sydney, Australia to their family home where his father Nick had grown up as a child. Seconds from the beach Tom became an avid swimmer. At the age of 11, they moved again to Los Angeles, where Nick pursued acting and a very lucrative Voice Over career. Tom slowly fell in love with drama during high school, winning several LA area drama competitions and playing the lead in the high school musicals. He chose to attend college on a drama scholarship at the University of Michigan's drama program, where he played the role of Randle P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. But restless to move on to the big time, Tom transferred to N.Y.U. the following year and spent the next 2 years studying at the Stella Adler Conservatory at the Tisch School of the Arts. After a break, where he returned home for a year, he completed his education at NYU and was immediately cast as Cassio in a National Tour of Othello with the Aquila Theater Company. After the very successful tour and a subsequent 2 month run Off-Broadway in New York City. Tom was cast in a Los Angeles stage production of the play Glory Pie as the loud and boisterous Sci-Fi star Barris, where he played alongside actress Bree Turner. The play was acclaimed and loved by audiences. After the production Tom decided to remain in Los Angeles to pursue film and TV. Less than 4 months later he was cast as Bryan Ford in his first feature film, The Redemption of Sara Cain.