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Tom Arnold makes his own way after Roseanne

Tam Arnold

January 22, 1996
Web posted at: 10:30 a.m. EST

From Correspondent Bill Tush

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Just a few years ago, Roseanne and Tom Arnold's names were splattered on every tabloid. And their divorce battles were showing up everywhere.

When the dust finally settled and the two went their separate ways, Tom Arnold's life was at an all time low. But good fortune came his way when he landed the role of Arnold Schwarzenegger's partner in "True Lies."

"It was bad at home, but when I got the set of 'True Lies' and started acting with Arnold ...I could separate what was happening at home and really have a great time," he recalls. (136K AIFF sound or 136K WAV sound)

His performance was praised by critics and audiences alike - - and Arnold says he views the role as more than a comeback.

Tom Arnold and Rosanne

So despite the tabloids, the talk shows and the crazy stunts, Tom Arnold made it. Arnold says that being married to the "incredibly famous" Roseanne made life a little more than difficult, but that's all changed now.

"My life is a little more normal," he says. "Those tabloid stories go on without me." (170K AIFF sound or 170K WAV sound)

Tom Arnold's latest film hits screens this week. It's called "Big Bully" and Arnold co-stars with Rick Moranis. Guess which one plays the bully?

scene shot from movie

But "Big Bully" is just one of the films the actor has in the works. Another is the big screen version of television's black-and-white classic, "The Honeymooners" -- although recent reports have indicated Arnold has backed off the project. He says that's not the case.

"If anybody can do it, I think I can," he says, adding that he's looking for a "great" script. "It's my favorite show of all time. I don't want the memory of that show hurt in anyway."

If luck and good scripts keep coming his way, Tom Arnold's career may -- to use one of Ralph Cramden's phrases from the Honeymooners -- take him "to the moon, Alice, to the moon."

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