Tom Sizemore

Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023) was an American actor.

Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. was born on November 29, 1961, in Detroit, Michigan.

His mother, Judith (née Schannault), was a member of the city of Detroit ombudsman staff, and his father, Thomas Edward Sizemore Sr., was a lawyer and philosophy professor.

Sizemore had an uncle who was a pimp and two uncles who were drug dealers.

He was raised Roman Catholic.

His parents divorced during his teen years.

Sizemore stated that his maternal grandfather was of French and Native American ancestry and also that his grandfather was African-American.

Sizemore graduated from Wayne State University in 1983, where he earned a bachelor's degree in theater.

He earned his master's degree at Temple University in 1986.

Sizemore had a recurring role on the television series China Beach (1988–1991) as an enlisted man named Vinnie Who was in love with Dana Delany's character.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, he started his career with supporting appearances in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Lock Up (1989), and Blue Steel (1990).

One of Sizemore's earliest film appearances was in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989).

His other early roles included Lock Up (1989), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Point Break (1991), Passenger 57 (1992), True Romance (1993), Striking Distance (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Strange Days (1995).

These appearances led to more prominent roles in films like Passenger 57 (1992), True Romance (1993), Striking Distance (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), Strange Days (1995), Heat (1995), and The Relic (1997).

For his performance in Heart and Souls (1993), he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Sizemore starred in the independent drama film Love Is Like That (1993) with actress and model Pamela Gidley and had a supporting role in Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp (1994) as Bat Masterson.

A succession of well-received supporting parts followed, beginning with his portrayal of Michael Cheritto in the heist film Heat (1995).

Sizemore continued to play leading and character parts in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), and Witness Protection (1999).

Sizemore's first major leading role was as Vincent D'Agosta in The Relic (1997).

In 1998, Sizemore starred in Saving Private Ryan, his most commercially successful film.

Saving Private Ryan (1998) proved to be his most commercially successful project, bringing in $217,000,000 at the box office.

He later appeared in Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Black Hawk Down (2001), and Pearl Harbor (2001).

Sizemore received a Golden Globe nomination for his lead role in the television film Witness Protection (1999).

In the early 2000s, Sizemore appeared in the action films Pearl Harbor (2001), which also starred Ben Affleck, and Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001).

He had a voice role as Sonny Forelli in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Sizemore starred in Ticker (2001), an action film directed by Albert Pyun, with Steven Seagal and Dennis Hopper.

He also provided the voice of mobster Sonny Forelli in the acclaimed 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

He also starred in the well-reviewed but short-lived television drama series Robbery Homicide Division (2002-2003).

He appeared in the Mel Gibson-produced Paparazzi (2004) and played an undercover cop in Swindle (2006), opposite Sherilyn Fenn.

That same year, Sizemore starred in The Genius Club (2006), playing a terrorist who taunts seven geniuses into solving the world's problems in one night.

He went on to a leading role in the action/thriller film Splinter (2006) with Edward James Olmos.

In 2007, VH1 aired the reality series Shooting Sizemore (2007), which depicted Sizemore's struggle to regain his career amid addictions to methamphetamine and heroin.

The next year, television network VH1 aired a six-episode reality TV series called Shooting Sizemore (2007), depicting the actor's life as he struggled to regain his career in the midst of battling long-standing addictions to methamphetamine and heroin.

The series also covered an ongoing legal appeal of his conviction for an assault of former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.

In the same year, the actor starred in the indie drama film Oranges (2007) with Tom Arnold and Jill Hennessy, which was directed by Syrian director and producer Joseph Merhi.

Sizemore performed in two films that screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Red (2008) and American Son (2008).

He was highly prolific that year, starring in The Last Lullaby (2008), The Flyboys (2008) with Stephen Baldwin, action film Stiletto (2008) with Tom Berenger and Michael Biehn, drama film Toxic (2008) with Costas Mandylor, and the Canadian drama A Broken Life (2008) with Ving Rhames.

Sizemore went on to appear in five episodes of the television series Crash (2008–2009) with Dennis Hopper and the comedy film Super Capers (2009).

Sizemore also participated in other reality series related to his addiction, including Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (2010) and Celebrity Rehab Presents Sober House (2010).

He appeared in the revival series of Twin Peaks (2017).