David Tom

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title: "David Tom" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1978-births", "living-people", "actors-from-hinsdale,-illinois", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-soap-opera-actors", "daytime-emmy-award-winners", "daytime-emmy-award-for-outstanding-younger-actor-in-a-drama-series-winners", "male-actors-from-dupage-county,-illinois", "american-male-child-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "american-twins", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "21st-century-american-male-actors"] description: "American actor (born 1978)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Tom" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor (born 1978) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	David Tom
birth_name	Charles David Tom
birth_date
birth_place	Hinsdale, Illinois, U.S.
known_for
occupation	Actor
years_active	1988–present
relatives
::

| name = David Tom | birth_name = Charles David Tom | birth_date = | birth_place = Hinsdale, Illinois, U.S. | known_for = | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1988–present | relatives =

Charles David Tom (born March 23, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless (1999 to 2002, 2014) and Paul Cramer on One Life to Live (2004). He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in 2000 for his work on The Young and the Restless.

Early life

Tom was born in Hinsdale, Illinois. He is the twin brother of actress Nicholle Tom, who played Maggie Sheffield on The Nanny. He guest-starred with her on an episode of Criminal Minds in 2008. They have one older sibling, Heather Tom, who played Tom's sister on One Life to Live and co-starred with him on The Young and the Restless.

When Tom was eight, his family moved from Chicago, Illinois to Seattle, Washington because of his father's work. A year later, his mother brought all three children to Los Angeles for pilot season. They relocated there permanently, with Tom's father staying behind in Seattle and his parents divorcing. His mother got a job as a speech therapist for the Pasadena school system, while the children pursued acting. Tom studied at the Young Actors Space and worked with acting teacher Diane Hardin.

Career

After appearing in print advertisements and television commercials, Tom made his film debut with an uncredited role in Plain Clothes in 1988. He then landed a regular role as Bart McCray on the NBC series Brand New Life (1989-1990). He made guest starring appearances on Get a Life and Just the Ten of Us. Tom was cast as Sponge in the pilot episode of the Nickelodeon series Salute Your Shorts.

Tom played Andy, a young boy suffering from psychosomatic paralysis, in the 1992 TV Movie Stepfather III. He played Darryl Knable in the film Stay Tuned, co-starring with John Ritter. Tom received Young Artist Award nominations for his roles in both films.

In 1993, Tom played Willi in the historical film Swing Kids, garnering another Young Artist Award nomination. He had recurring roles on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Quantum Leap. Tom appeared in the TV movies A Place to Be Loved and Summertime Switch.

Tom starred as Jacob McKay, a young boy who gets stranded in the Rocky Mountains, in the 1995 film Walking Thunder. He played a younger version of D.B. Sweeney's character in the comedy-drama film Roommates and guest starred on Sister, Sister.

He appeared as Whitey in the 1998 comedy-drama film Pleasantville, co-starring with Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon. Tom also had a role in the NBC TV mini-series The 60s. He played David Cass in the TV movie Man of Miracles (also known as Holy Joe), co-starring again with John Ritter. In 1999, Tom had recurring roles on Cousin Skeeter and Party of Five.

Tom played the role of Billy Abbott on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, from June 1999 to August 2002. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor for his role on The Young and the Restless in 2000. He was nominated again in the same category in 2001. He also won a Soap Opera Digest Award in 2000 for Outstanding Male Newcomer. He received a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Younger Lead Actor in 2001.

In February 2004, it was announced that he would be joining the cast of One Life to Live as Paul Cramer, replacing Brock Cuchna. His real-life sister, Heather Tom, played his half-sister, Kelly Cramer. He was involved in a crossover storyline with All My Children, making several appearances on that show. He took a temporary leave of absence from OLTL in July 2004 before a permanent departure was announced in September 2004.

Tom played Jacob Sterling in the 2004 horror film The Hazing. He had a recurring role as Chip Diller on Veronica Mars (2006 to 2007). In 2010, he played Daniel Whittaker in the Hallmark Channel movie Love Begins. He also appeared in the 2013 film Pendejo (Idiot). He had guest starring roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 90210, Supernatural and Criminal Minds.

It was announced in November 2013 that he would be reprising the role of Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless, replacing Billy Miller. Four months after his return, he was abruptly fired and replaced with Burgess Jenkins. Tom said he was replaced because he looked too young when paired with his love interest, Cady McClain.

Tom guest-starred in episodes of NCIS: New Orleans and NCIS in 2015. He also played the role of Tobey in the film Chasing Yesterday. In 2019, Tom played Staff Sgt. Kuhn in the film D-Day: Battle of Omaha Beach.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Plain Clothes		Uncredited
1992	Stay Tuned	Darryl Knable
1993	Swing Kids	Willi
1995	Roommates	Michael (age 15)
1997	Walking Thunder	Jacob McKay
1998	Pleasantville	Whitey
2004	The Hazing	Jacob
2013	Pendejo (Idiot)	George
2015	Chasing Yesterday	Tobey
2019	D-Day: Battle of Omaha Beach	Staff Sgt. Kuhn
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Just the Ten of Us	Kid	Episode: "A Couple of Swells"
1989–1990	Brand New Life	Bart McCray	Main cast
1990	Get a Life	Otto	Episode: "Dadicus"
Salute Your Shorts	"Sponge" Harris	Episode: "Welcome to Bunk 13" (Pilot)
1992	Stepfather III	Andy Davis	Television film
1993	Quantum Leap	Daniel Burke	2 episodes
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Lewis Bing	3 episodes
A Place to Be Loved	Brian Russ	Television film
1994	Summertime Switch	Todd	Television film
1995	Sister, Sister	Denny	Episode: "Private School"
1998	Nothing Sacred	Rudy	Episode: "Sex, God and Reality"
Maggie	Billy Dreyer	Episode: "The Other Woman"
1999	Party of Five	Heath	2 episodes
Cousin Skeeter	Joe Steele	2 episodes
The '60s	Tommy	Television mini-series
Holy Joe	David Cass	Television film
1999–2002; 2014	The Young and the Restless	Billy Abbott	Contract role
2003	Titletown		Unaired pilot
2004–2005	One Life to Live	Paul Cramer	Contract role
2004	All My Children	Paul Cramer	Recurring role
2006–2007	Veronica Mars	Chip Diller	7 episodes
2007	Supernatural	Curtis	Episode: "Tall Tales"
2008	Criminal Minds	Georgie Galen	Episode: "Damaged"
Good Behavior	Cozy Boy	Unaired pilot
2010	Roommates	Brady	6 episodes
2011	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Allen Krick	Episode: "73 Seconds"
Love Begins	Daniel Whittaker	Television film
2012	90210	Club Manager	Episode: "Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?"
2015	NCIS: New Orleans	Phil Burke	Episode: "Rock-a-Bye-Baby"
NCIS	Maple	Episode: "Lockdown"
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table title=""]

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
1992	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actor in a Cable Movie	Stepfather III
Young Artist Award	Best Young Actor Co-Starring in a Motion Picture	Stay Tuned
1993	Young Artist Award	Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Motion Picture (shared with Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard, and Frank Whaley)	Swing Kids
2000	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless
Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Male Newcomer	The Young and the Restless
2001	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless
Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Younger Lead Actor	The Young and the Restless
::

References

References

1. "Celebrities: Nicholle Tom and David Tom".
2. Byron, Ellen. (February 4, 1992). "Troubled Teen". [[Soap Opera Digest]].
3. "Tom, David 1978 -".
4. "Credits: David Tom".
5. Scott, Tony. (June 4, 1992). "Stepfather III".
6. "Stay Tuned - Full Cast & Crew".
7. "Fourteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1991-1992".
8. "Fifteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1992-1993".
9. "Swing Kids - Full Cast & Crew".
10. "About the Actors: David Tom".
11. Everett, Todd. (April 1, 1993). "Cbs Sunday Movie a Place to Be Loved".
12. "Summertime Switch - 1994".
13. "Walking Thunder - Full Cast & Crew".
14. "Holy Joe Man of Miracles (1999)".
15. Kroll, Dan J.. (March 24, 2002). "One Tom in, One Tom out".
16. (May 23, 2000). "ABC's Daytime Emmy Awards Count Reaches 17".
17. Bernstein, Paula. (March 13, 2001). "Regis tracks two Emmys".
18. (April 14, 2003). "2000".
19. Kroll, Dan J.. (February 19, 2004). "David Tom to assume role of Paul Cramer".
20. Kroll, Dan J.. (September 6, 2004). "David Tom to exit OLTL".
21. "The Hazing - Full Cast & Crew".
22. Logan, Michael. (January 17, 2014). "Exclusive: David Tom Previews His Return — After 12 Years — to The Young and the Restless".
23. "Love Begins".
24. Kenneally, Tim. (November 19, 2013). "'Young and the Restless' Brings David Tom Back After Billy Miller Exit".
25. Kroll, Dan J.. (May 23, 2014). "Shocker: David Tom Out, Y&R recasts Billy".
26. (May 29, 2014). "David Tom Speaks Out On Reason He Was Told He Was Being Let-Go From Y&R!".
27. (May 9, 2016). "Former AMC & The Bay's Eric Nelsen Stars In New Film Chasing Yesterday With Soap Alums: David Gregory and David Tom!".
28. "D-Day: Battle of Omaha Beach".

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