Enjoying each opportunity: Comedian Tom Arnold to perform at Lobo Theater, take part in Albuquerque Comic Con

Over the course of nearly 40 years in the entertainment industry, Tom Arnold has done it all.

He’s written, acted and produced a number of projects.

The comedian will arrive in Albuquerque this week for a few events. The first is to perform a stand-up comedy show on Friday, Jan. 19, at the Historic Lobo Theater.

Arnold will then spend time as a guest at Albuquerque Comic Con, which runs from Friday, Jan. 19, through Sunday, Jan. 21, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

“I’ve been to Albuquerque a bunch of times,” he says. “They do a lot of film productions down there. That’s where ‘Breaking Bad’ was filmed. I relate to that show because my sister was spotlighted in the project, ‘Queen of Meth.’ She was the biggest drug dealer in America. That all hits home for me.”

Arnold has appeared on the “Jimmy Kimmel Show,” “Howard Stern,” “Saturday Night Live” and was a co-host on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.”

In addition to his numerous television appearances, he has been in over 150 films. He is best known for his roles on “Roseanne,” “Austin Powers,” “Soul Plane” and “True Lies.” He also hosted his own show on Vice called “Hunt For The Trump Tapes.”

He will be appearing in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new Netflix series “FUBAR” and was in CBS’s reboot of “True Lies,” as well as appearing in “The Rookie: Feds.”

He is a single dad with a 10-year-old and 7-year-old and four ex-wives.

“Me and my kids live in a pretty small house,” he says. “I try to balance my personal life along with my work life. It’s difficult being a single dad. I’ve also got to keep myself in shape. It’s been very cold here in the San Fernando Valley, and I didn’t let that stop me. I got out and ran about 9:30 p.m. and it was chilly.”

Arnold is looking forward to being part of both events in Albuquerque.

“People are coming out to see you,” he says. “That means a lot to this small-town boy with big dreams. I wanted to get out of my hometown and I did it. I’ve been lucky enough to be in some really great projects and be a part of people’s lives.”

With the majority of his life spent in the spotlight, Arnold doesn’t hold anything back during his comedy sets.

“I share a lot about my personal experiences,” he says. “Many other things, you can Google if you want to know more about me. I do a lot of stand-up comedy out here in California, but I find that it’s best to take the comedy show out on the road to get more people to see it.”

Arnold is always grateful to work.

Growing up in Iowa, he wanted to get on TV as a stand-up comedian at least one time.

“My dad laughed at me,” he says. “The only time we heard him laugh was when he would watch Bob Hope specials. I remember seeing the happiness he brought to my dad, and I wanted to do what he did.”

Arnold then enrolled at the University of Iowa, where he began to check off milestones.

“I’m lucky that I’ve achieved all my goals,” he says. “Roseanne started asking me to write for her during the series. Then I became a regular on the series. I found that writing for movies and TV were new opportunities for me. If I get my head around it, I can have fun with it.”