An Indian actor of American descent, Tom Alter was actively associated with television shows, movies, and theater plays. Having started his acting career in the early 70s, Tom was best known for his work in movies like Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Kranti, Sardar, and Junoon. While he had appeared in various regional language movies, he worked in Hollywood movies as well.

Apart from being an acclaimed actor, Tom was also a writer and had published books like The Longest Race, Rerun at Rialto, and The Best in the World. Also, with a keen interest in cricket, he had extensively written for publications like Sportsweek, Outlook, Cricket Talk, Sunday Observer, and Debonair.

Even after being a part of the movies for over four decades, Tom continued to be a part of the industry and had movies like Veer-Zaara, Viruddh... Family Comes First, Bheja Fry, M Cream, and Sargoshiyan to his credit.

After being diagnosed with Stage IV skin cancer in 2017, Tom Alter passed away the same year in October to his condition. His last movie Hamari Paltan was released posthumously in 2018.