Tom Epperson was born in 1951 in the small town of Nashville, Arkansas, and raised in nearby Malvern, where his father served as a lawyer and judge. A shy boy who preferred comic books, monster movies, and fishing on Lake Catherine to the classroom, he grew up in a segregated South that left an indelible mark on his worldview. From an early age he recognized the injustice of racism and learned to question conventional wisdom—a principle that would guide his life and work.
At the University of Arkansas, Epperson discovered his calling as a writer under the mentorship of English professor George Horneker. Abandoning plans to follow in his father’s legal footsteps, he earned his B.A. and M.A. in English and briefly entered a Ph.D. program at the University of Texas at Austin. Realizing he needed to experience more of life beyond academia, he left the program to seek his own stories in the wider world.
In his twenties, Epperson reconnected with a childhood neighbor, a spirited young man named Billy Bob Thornton. The two shared a love of sports, comic books, and movies, and soon became inseparable collaborators in ambition and adventure. Their early escapades—from a failed attempt to conquer New York City during the “Summer of Sam” to wanderings across California and Mexico—taught them resilience, humility, and the bittersweet comedy of youthful dreams.
After a brief stint teaching high-school English in rural Arkansas and a succession of odd jobs and false starts, Epperson resolved to merge his literary aspirations with his passion for film. In 1981 he and Billy Bob Thornton set out for Los Angeles with little more than a typewriter, $500, and unshakable faith that they could make it as screenwriters. The early years were grueling—heat waves, cheap motels, day jobs, and stacks of rejection slips—but their partnership endured.
Four years later, they landed an agent; six years later, they sold their first script. Their breakthrough came with One False Move (1992), a gritty crime drama about a small-town Arkansas police chief confronting L.A. criminals. Though initially shelved, the film was championed by critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, whose praise helped it earn theatrical release and widespread acclaim. The success launched both writers’ Hollywood careers and jump-started Billy Bob Thornton’s rise as an actor and director.
Tom Epperson and Billy Bob Thornton went on to write several more screenplays together, crafting stories steeped in moral complexity and Southern Gothic atmosphere. After years in Hollywood, Epperson returned to his literary roots, publishing The Kind One in 2008—a dark, lyrical noir set in Depression-era Los Angeles. The novel showcased his gift for blending literary elegance with cinematic tension and confirmed that his long detour through film had sharpened his storytelling craft.
Over the decades, Epperson’s life has been marked by perseverance, curiosity, and transformation. From the quiet classrooms of Arkansas to the chaos of Los Angeles studios, his journey has embodied the restless spirit of an artist unwilling to settle. He has written through lean years, heartbreaks, and triumphs alike, believing that every setback is part of the narrative.
After forty-one years in Los Angeles, Epperson and his wife, Stefani—the woman who once lent him rent money when he was broke—settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their home sits on a hill surrounded by piñon and juniper, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains visible in the distance. Epperson describes it as “like living in a dream,” a quiet vantage point from which to reflect on the improbable path his life has taken.
Now in his seventies, Epperson continues to write for both page and screen, maintaining the same curiosity and moral awareness that have guided him since childhood. He remains outspoken about injustice, environmental peril, and the dangers of complacency, believing that stories—told honestly—can awaken empathy and inspire change.
Looking back, Tom Epperson credits his modest beginnings, creative detours, and lifelong partnership with Billy Bob Thornton for shaping not just his career but his character. As he puts it, he’s grateful he didn’t find success too early: without the struggle, he might never have written movies, found his way to California, or built the life he treasures today.
