Actor Tom Sizemore, known for his work in films such as ‘Saving Private Ryan’, ‘True Romance’ and ‘Black Hawk Down’, has died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 61.
Sizemore died Friday at a Burbank hospital, according to his manager, Charles Lago. The actor was taken to the intensive care unit at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank on Feb. 18, where he was admitted in critical condition and remained in a coma.
Earlier this week, Lago released a statement on behalf of the “Heat” actor’s relatives: “Doctors have informed his family that there is no hope and have recommended an end-of-life decision.”
Lago said in a statement that Sizemore “passed away peacefully in his sleep … at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank.” His brother Paul and twin boys Jayden and Jagger were by his side.”
In 1998, Sizemore starred opposite Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning World War II drama “Saving Private Ryan.” Sizemore portrayed Capt. Miller’s (Hanks) right-hand man, Sgt. Mike Horvath, a loyal and courageous soldier who provides the main thrust of the movie and keeps mementos from every military tour he has completed.
Sizemore accepted Horvath’s career-changing role on a whim. He was about to start filming Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” in Australia when Spielberg called him and asked, “Do you want to go to Australia with Terry Malick or do you want to go to Britain and Ireland with me and Tom?” Hank?”
“I told him I wanted to go to Britain and Ireland,” he said in 2018.
“It was a groundbreaking experience for me because it was like being invited behind the curtain of Oz. Steven and his crew operated on a totally different level than I had ever seen,” he added, “the scope of his vision, the attention to detail exceeded anything I had ever dreamed of.”
Tom Sizemore in 2014.
(Jordan Strauss / Associated Press)
Born on November 29, 1961, Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. grew up in Detroit. His father was a lawyer and professor and his mother an ombudsman for the city.
“I was a tough kid,” Sizemore recalled in 1995. “I don’t hit people anymore.”
Eventually, Sizemore’s family moved to the suburbs until his father got a divorce and the children moved back to Detroit with their mother. At the age of 16, Sizemore ‘wanted to move on’ with his life.
“I knew I wanted to be an actor,” he told The Times in 1995. “I wanted to leave Detroit.”
After attending Wayne State University, Sizemore earned a master’s degree in theater from Temple University and moved to New York City to pursue acting. His first break came when Oliver Stone cast him for a small role in ‘Born on the Fourth of July’.
In the 1990s, Sizemore played tough roles in films such as ‘Natural Born Killers’, ‘Wyatt Earp’ and ‘Heat’ and later had a recurring role in the television series ‘China Beach’. In 2000, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his starring role as a former gangster on the run in the TV movie “Witness Protection.” He also played a lead role in the high profile military drama ‘Black Hawk Down’.
Outside of his film and TV work, Sizemore was also involved in theater. At the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in 2011, he gave a private reading of his one-man show “I Am Not Sam,” which explored his biracial identity. During the performance, he took over the voice of his black grandfather, who warned him never to reveal his biracial heritage if he wanted to make it in Hollywood.
“I hate this stuff,” Sizemore said as people gathered to congratulate him after the lecture. “I’m leaving in a minute.”
Sizemore amassed over 200 acting credits in movies, video games, theater and TV. His last role was as a doctor in the 2022 comedy series ‘Barbee Rehab’.
Throughout his career, Sizemore was often in the news for his run-ins with law enforcement. In 2003, he was convicted of molesting his girlfriend, Heidi Fleiss, and served 17 months in prison.
At his trial, Sizemore’s lawyers denied Fleiss’ allegations and accused her of attempting to blackmail him. He was found guilty of domestic violence, criminal threats and harassing phone calls.
He was also arrested once for assaulting another girlfriend in downtown LA and twice for assaulting a former wife. In addition, he was previously detained on suspicion of transporting or selling a controlled substance, and pleaded not using methamphetamine outside a Bakersfield motel in 2006.
Sizemore was open about his struggles with drug addiction — one time, he even volunteered to detox on national television by taking part in a season of the VH1 reality series, “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.”
Appearing on “Larry King Live” in 2010, Sizemore told the late TV host that he became addicted to cocaine after first using the drug with “a famous actor” as his Hollywood dreams began to come true. He also struggled with addiction to heroin and crystal meth.
“If I didn’t, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t get out of bed,’ Sizemore told King. “But I didn’t enjoy it and it destroyed my career. … I am an actor. I’ve been acting for 30 years and I didn’t do it anymore. I had no money. … I was pretty hopeless.”
In 2011, Sizemore announced that he would be writing a book about his experiences of “substance abuse.” He released his memoir, “By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There”, in 2013.
“The fact that I’ve been sober for over two years now — and that I’m acting just as much as I did before — proves that people can overcome obstacles even when they’re sure they can’t,” Sizemore said ahead of the book. Edition.
Sizemore is survived by his 17-year-old twin sons, Jagger and Jayden.
