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Actor Tom Sizemore arrives at the Paramount Vantage premiere of "Babel" on Nov. 5, 2006, in Westwood, California. |
Tom Sizemore brought a compelling intensity to many of the tricky guy parts he portrayed at the beginning of his career. Rugged and green-eyed, Sizemore starred in several movies now regarded as classics, Saving Private Ryan from 1998 is possibly his most well-known. But, the actor's skill and career would be overshadowed by his battles with addiction and legal issues.
Sizemore was admitted to the hospital on February 18 with a severe condition due to a brain aneurysm. Sizemore passed away on Friday after spending his whole life in a coma. Age 61 was the actor.
Sizemore's manager Charles Lago expressed his sadness over the loss of not just a client but also a dear friend and mentor of over 15 years in a statement. "Tom was one of the most honest, kind, and giving people I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know. His resilience in the face of difficulty has always been an inspiration to me. He had a terrific couple of years, and his life was starting to turn around again. He cherished his family and his boys. My buddy Tom Sizemore will be sorely missed."
Sizemore, a Detroit native, grew up with his mother watching movies. According to a 2022 interview with the website Decider, he was attracted by Robert De Niro's portrayal of the character in Taxi Driver.
I saw the movie every week for about two months when it was in theatres, he claimed. "11 weeks in a row I watched it. I initially began to consider, "Whatever that is they are doing up there, I want to be part of it," at that time. I wish to carry out that. I also began to research how to become an actress."
At Wayne State University and Temple University, Sizemore pursued a theatrical degree. He spent some time in New York City serving tables while he tried to establish a career before being cast in an incredible string of well-known movies.
Beginning in 1989, Sizemore had brief appearances in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July and two of Kathryn Bigelow's early films, Point Break and Blue Steel. Sizemore gradually progressed into more significant parts in Natural Born Killers, Passenger 57, True Romance, and Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.
He supported his hero Robert De Niro as a member of a criminal gang in Heat and took Harvey Keitel's place in Devil in a Blue Dress. Sizemore then uttered the phrase in Saving Private Ryan that persuades his troop of devastated Army soldiers that looking for their missing buddy could be the last honorable thing they do throughout the brutality of World War Two.
Yet after playing in a couple more significant Hollywood war movies, such as Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor, Sizemore's life spiraled out of control. In 2003, he was found guilty of assaulting Heidi Fleiss, the "Hollywood Madam," who was then engaged to him. He was detained several times for domestic abuse, drug possession, and driving while intoxicated. Also, he reportedly engaged in inappropriate behavior with an 11-year-old child while working on a movie set, however, the allegation was later disproven in 2020.
Sizemore was able to continue working. He was in the 2006 film with the lowest box office take. And he attempted to clean up several times. Sizemore revealed it was his eighth time in rehab when he made an appearance on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2010. He also said his sober periods had been the best times of his life.
By 2016, Sizemore was gradually regaining his reputation by making guest appearances on well-known TV and online programs including Lucifer, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the Twin Peaks revival, and Cobra Kai.
The following year, he told the Daily Mail, "I'm a pitcher, an older pitcher now, and I used to throw 98 mph and I still throw 98 mph when I'm acting.
According to his management, Sizemore passed away with his brother Paul, his 17-year-old twin sons Jayden and Jagger, and them by his side.
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