Tom Sizemore

Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (/ˈsaɪzmɔːr/; November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023) was an American actor. Born in Detroit, he started his career with supporting appearances in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Lock Up (1989), and Blue Steel (1990). The 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).

In 1998, Sizemore starred in Saving Private Ryan, his most commercially successful film. He later appeared in Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Black Hawk Down (2001), and Pearl Harbor (2001). He received a Golden Globe nomination for his lead role in the television film Witness Protection (1999). He also provided the voice of mobster Sonny Forelli in the acclaimed 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

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. He 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).

Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. was born on November 29, 1961 in Detroit. 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. Thomas Jr. grew up as a Catholic and his parents divorced when he was a teenager. Thomas Sizemore Jr. said that his maternal grandfather was of French and Native American ancestry and also that his grandfather was African-American. He graduated from Wayne State University near downtown Detroit in 1983; he earned a bachelor's degree in Theater there. He received a master's degree from Temple University in Philadelphia in 1986.

One of Sizemore's earliest film roles was in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989). His other early appearances 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). He 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. For his performance in Heart and Souls (1993), he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. He 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's first major leading role was as Vincent D'Agosta in The Relic (1997). Sizemore continued to play leading and character parts in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), and Witness Protection (1999). Saving Private Ryan (1998) proved to be his most commercially successful project, bringing in $217,000,000 at the box office. In the early 2000s, he appeared in the action films Pearl Harbor (2001), which also starred Ben Affleck and Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001). Sizemore had a voice role as Sonny Forelli in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. He starred in Ticker (2001), an action film directed by Albert Pyun, with Steven Seagal and Dennis Hopper. Sizemore 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), played Pete Rose in Hustle (2004) depicting his illegal gambling while managing the Cincinnati Reds, and played an undercover cop in Swindle (2006), opposite Sherilyn Fenn.

In the 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 had a leading role in the action/thriller film Splinter (2006) with Edward James Olmos. 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 appeared in five episodes of the television series Crash (2008–2009) with Dennis Hopper and the comedy film Super Capers (2009). Sizemore starred in the indie horror film Murder 101 (2014) and co-starred with Kyra Sedgwick and Vincent D'Onofrio in the comedy-drama film Chlorine (2013). Sizemore starred alongside martial arts actor Mark Dacascos in the action film Shadows in Paradise (2010), followed by an appearance as a trucker in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Sizemore appeared alongside the Insane Clown Posse in the comedy film Big Money Rustlas (2010) and the heist thriller Five Thirteen with Taryn Manning. He had roles in the films Suing the Devil (2011) and White Knight (2011), as well as the adventure film The Age of Reason (2014). He had a career resurgence when he was cast as a series regular in the USA Network action program Shooter (2016), starring Ryan Phillippe. Sizemore received positive notices for the drama thriller Calico Skies (2016). In 2017, he appeared as insurance agent Anthony Sinclair in David Lynch's revival miniseries Twin Peaks, and portrayed FBI Agent Bill Sullivan in the drama film Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House. Sizemore acted in an indie action film entitled The Assault (2017) with Jordan Ladd.^{[better source needed]}