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).

Tom Sizemore
Sizemore at the Newport Beach Film Festival in Newport Beach, California, April 2011
Born	Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (1961-11-29)November 29, 1961 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	March 3, 2023(2023-03-03) (aged 61) Burbank, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S
Education	Wayne State University (BA) Temple University (MA)
Occupations	Actor film producer
Years active	1989–2023
Spouse	Maeve Quinlan ​ ​ (m. 1996; div. 1999)​
Partner	Janelle McIntire (sep.)[1]
Children	2

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).

Early life and education

Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr.^[2] was born on November 29, 1961^[3] in Detroit.^[4] 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.^[4] Thomas Jr. grew up as a Catholic and his parents divorced when he was a teenager.^[5] Thomas Sizemore Jr. said that his maternal grandfather was of French and Native American ancestry and also that his grandfather was African-American.^[6][7] 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.^[2]

Career

One of Sizemore's earliest film roles was in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989).^[8] 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).^[9][4][10] 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.^[11][12] For his performance in Heart and Souls (1993), he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor.^[8][13] 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.^[4][14]

A succession of well-received supporting parts followed, beginning with his portrayal of Michael Cheritto in the heist film Heat (1995).^[8][9] Sizemore's first major leading role was as Vincent D'Agosta in The Relic (1997).^[4][11] Sizemore continued to play leading and character parts in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), and Witness Protection (1999).^[9][11] Saving Private Ryan (1998) proved to be his most commercially successful project, bringing in $217,000,000 at the box office.^[4][12] 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).^[9][10] Sizemore had a voice role as Sonny Forelli in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.^[15] He starred in Ticker (2001), an action film directed by Albert Pyun, with Steven Seagal and Dennis Hopper.^[16] Sizemore also starred in the well-reviewed but short-lived television drama series Robbery Homicide Division (2002-2003).^[4] 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.^[17][18]

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.^[9][19] He had a leading role in the action/thriller film Splinter (2006) with Edward James Olmos.^[16][18] 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.^[20][21] The series also covered an ongoing legal appeal of his conviction for an assault of former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.^[22] 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.^[23] Sizemore performed in two films that screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Red (2008) and American Son (2008).^[9][24] 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.^[18][25][26]

Sizemore appeared in five episodes of the television series Crash (2008–2009) with Dennis Hopper and the comedy film Super Capers (2009).^[23][27] 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).^[18][23][28] 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.^[9][29] Sizemore appeared alongside the Insane Clown Posse in the comedy film Big Money Rustlas (2010) and the heist thriller Five Thirteen with Taryn Manning.^[23][30] 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).^[23][31] He had a career resurgence when he was cast as a series regular in the USA Network action program Shooter (2016), starring Ryan Phillippe.^[4] Sizemore received positive notices for the drama thriller Calico Skies (2016).^[32][33] In 2017, he appeared as insurance agent Anthony Sinclair in David Lynch's revival miniseries Twin Peaks,^[34] and portrayed FBI Agent Bill Sullivan in the drama film Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House.^[35] Sizemore acted in an indie action film entitled The Assault (2017) with Jordan Ladd.^{[36][better source needed]}

In 2020, Sizemore appeared in C.L.E.A.N., a thriller/horror indie film and won a Vegas Movie Award; in 2021 he won another Vegas Movie Award for his supporting role in indie film The Electric Man with Vernon Wells and Eric Roberts.^[27][37] In 2022, Sizemore won also an IndieFEST Film Award and Accolade Competition Award for his supporting role in The Electric Man.^[38] In January 2022, he joined the cast of The Legend of Jack and Diane, a feature film described as a female-fronted revenge thriller, directed and written by Bruce Bellocchi.^[39][40] Also in 2022, Sizemore starred in the comedy series Barbee Rehab, alongside Bai Ling and Janice Dickinson.^[41]

Music

Sizemore fronted the Hollywood rock band Day 8.^[42] Formed in 2002, the band recorded a four-song EP produced and recorded by Bradley Dujmovic and former Snot/Soulfly guitarist Mike Doling. Originally called "The Bystanders", the group included guitarist and co-writer Rod Castro, Alan Muffterson, Tyrone Tomke, and Michael Taylor.^[43]

Personal life

Sizemore on Wilshire Boulevard in LA, October 2010

Sizemore married actress Maeve Quinlan in 1996. They divorced in 1999 because of Sizemore's drug problems.^[25] He dated Heidi Fleiss, known as the onetime "Hollywood Madam".^[44] He was for a time in a relationship with Janelle McIntire, who gave birth in July 2005 to his twin sons, Jagger and Jayden.^[45][46]

On October 19, 2005, Vivid Entertainment released The Tom Sizemore Sex Scandal, a pornographic video featuring Sizemore and three women.^[47][48] In the video, he said that he had sex with Paris Hilton. Hilton denied his claim and said it was a ploy by Sizemore to increase sales of the video.^[49]

Substance abuse and legal issues

Sizemore said that he battled drug addiction from age 15.^{[50][better source needed]}

In 2003, Sizemore was convicted of domestic violence against ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss.^[44] On March 25, 2005, he was sentenced to seven months in jail and four months of drug treatment for repeatedly failing drug tests while on probation.^[51] He was caught attempting to fake a urine test using a Whizzinator.^[52][53][54] Fleiss' restraining order against him lapsed by 2010.^[55]

On May 8, 2007, while still on probation for a previous drug conviction, he was arrested outside the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Bakersfield, California, for possession of methamphetamine.^[56]

In 2010, Sizemore appeared as a patient/castmember on VH1's third season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.^[57] Because Fleiss was also in treatment on the show that season, both she and Sizemore had to consent to appear together. His reunion with Fleiss was amicable.^[55]

In 2013, he appeared on the episode "Explosive Relationships" of the talk show Dr. Phil in which he discussed his rise to stardom and the subsequent fallout after his years of struggling with substance abuse.^[4][58] Also in 2013, Sizemore claimed in an interview that he had begun to achieve sobriety after a stern interrogation from fellow actor Robert De Niro.^[12] De Niro personally checked Sizemore into rehabilitation.^[59]

In early 2014, a recording emerged of Sizemore alleging that former girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley had an affair with Bill Clinton in 1998.^[60] Under threat of legal action, Sizemore admitted that the allegation was false. He elaborated that the recording was made without his knowledge during a time when he was battling substance abuse.^[61]

In February 2017, he pleaded no contest to two charges of domestic abuse for assaulting his girlfriend. He was sentenced to 36 months of summary probation, 30 days of community service and a year-long domestic violence program. He was subject to two protective orders associated with the charges and ordered to pay various fees. The deal was made by Sizemore to avoid spending 210 days in jail.^[62]

In November 2017, it was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that Sizemore had been kicked off the set of the film Born Killers (then known as Piggy Banks) in 2003 for allegedly sexually molesting an 11-year-old actress when the film was in production near Salt Lake City, Utah.^[63] He denied any wrongdoing and was allowed back on the film set after the Salt Lake County prosecutor's office decided against going forward with the case "due to witness and evidence problems."^[64] In May 2018, actress Kiersten Pyke, by then 26 years old, filed a lawsuit against Sizemore, claiming that his alleged abuse caused longstanding emotional problems and seeking at least $3 million. A statement from Sizemore's publicist again denied the abuse, noting that nothing amiss was reported by a Born Killers staff member whose duty was supervising the child actors who were on the set.^[65] On August 27, 2020, USA Today reported that a Utah judge had dismissed the lawsuit. Sizemore again denied her claims saying: "Beyond the loss of work and the pain and humiliation this has caused me and my family, the thought that an 11-year old girl would think I violated her, whether it be because she misconstrued some inadvertent touching when the director placed her upon my lap for the photo shoot or someone else instilled this idea in her head for whatever malicious, self-serving reasons, is what devastates me most."^[66]

On January 5, 2019, Sizemore was arrested for misdemeanor drug possession of "various illegal narcotics" in Burbank, California.^[67]

Death

On February 18, 2023, Sizemore suffered a brain aneurysm at his Los Angeles home and was hospitalized at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in critical condition.^[68][69][70] On February 27, his representative issued a statement indicating that doctors had determined there was "no further hope" for Sizemore to recover and had "recommended end-of-life decisions" to his family.^[71][72][73] Sizemore died on March 3, 2023, at the age of 61.^[70]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Lock Up	Dallas	[4]
	Rude Awakening	Ian	[74]
	Penn & Teller Get Killed	2nd Mugger	[74]
	Born on the Fourth of July	Vet No. 1	[74]
1990	A Matter of Degrees	Zeno Stefanos	[18]
	Blue Steel	Wool Cap	[18]
1991	Flight of the Intruder	"Boxman"	[18]
	Guilty by Suspicion	Ray Karlin	[18]
	Point Break	DEA Agent Deets	[18]
	Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man	Chance Wilder	[9]
	Where Sleeping Dogs Lie	Eddie Hale	[18]
1992	Love Is Like That	Lenny	[14]
	Passenger 57	Sly Delvecchio	[18]
1993	Watch It	Danny	[23]
	Heart and Souls	Milo Peck	[8]
	True Romance	Detective Cody Nicholson	[75]
	Striking Distance	Danny Detillo	[18]
1994	Wyatt Earp	Bat Masterson	[4]
	Natural Born Killers	Detective Jack Scagnetti	[9]
1995	Strange Days	Max Peltier	[75]
	Devil in a Blue Dress	DeWitt Albright	[75]
	Heat	Michael Cheritto	[9]
1997	The Relic	Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta	[75]
1998	Saving Private Ryan	Sergeant First Class Mike Horvath	[75]
	Enemy of the State	Paulie Pintero, Mob Kingpin	[18]
1999	The Florentine	Teddy	[18]
	The Match	"Buffalo"	[18]
	Bringing Out the Dead	Tom Wolls	[75]
	Play It to the Bone	Joe Domino	[18]
2000	Get Carter	Les Fletcher	Voice[23]
	Red Planet	Dr. Quinn Burchenal	[18]
2001	Pearl Harbor	Sergeant Earl Sistern	[75]
	Ticker	Detective Ray Nettles	[16]
	Black Hawk Down	Colonel Danny McKnight	[75]
2002	Big Trouble	"Snake" Dupree	[18]
	Swindle	Seth George	[18]
	Welcome to America	Zach	[23]
2003	Pauly Shore Is Dead	Himself	[76]
	Dreamcatcher	Lieutenant Owen Underhill	[75]
2004	Paparazzi	Rex Harper	[17]
2005	The Nickel Children	Freedo	[23]
	Born Killers	Dad
	No Rules	Kain Diamond	[23]
2006	Zyzzyx Road	Joey	[23]
	Ring Around the Rosie	Pierce	Video[18]
	Shut Up and Shoot!	Himself	[23]
	Splinter	Detective Cunningham	[18]
	The Genius Club	Armand	[9]
2007	White Air	Steve	[23]
	Bottom Feeder	Vince Stoker	[18]
	Oranges	Burt	[23]
	Furnace	Frank Miller	[18]
	A Broken Life	Max	[18]
2008	American Son	Dale	[24]
	The Flyboys	Angelo Esposito	[18]
	Red	Michael McCormack	[24]
	The Last Lullaby	Price	[25]
	Stiletto	"Large" Bills	[26]
	Toxic	Van Sant	[26]
2009	Commute	God	[23]
	Super Capers	Roger Cheatem	[23]
	The Grind	Chuck	[23]
	21 and a Wake-Up	Jack Breedlau	[77]
	Double Duty	Craig	[78]
2010	Big Money Rustlas	Himself	[30]
	Shadows in Paradise	Colonel Bunker	[29]
	Corrado	Paolo Spinello	[18]
2011	Good God Bad Dog	Ezra Mann	Short[31]
	Black Gold	Detective Brandano	[18]
	Cellmates	Leroy Lowe	[79]
	Contractor's Routine	Art Professor	[80]
	Suing the Devil	Tony "The Hip" Anzaldo	[23]
	El Cartel de los Sapos	DEA Agent Sam Mathews	[81]
2012	Slumber Party Slaughter	Tom Kingsford	[82]
	El bosc	Pickett	[83][84]
2013	Madoff: Made Off with America	Vito	[85]
	Company of Heroes	Lieutenant Dean Ransom	Video[9]
	Five Hour Friends	Timothy Bonner	[18]
	Meth Head	Sonny	[86]
	Chlorine	Ernie	[87]
	Paranormal Movie	Himself	[78]
	Before I Sleep	Randy	[88]
	Five Thirteen	Glen	[78]
	Fake Dog Shit	The Bum	Short[89]
2014	SEAL Team 8: Behind Enemy Lines	Ricks	Video[18]
	Through the Eye	Frank Rossi	[31]
	Murder 101	FBI Agent Ridley	[18]
	Bordering on Bad Behavior	Bob	[90]
	Reach Me	Frank	[88]
	The Age of Reason	Robert	[31]
2015
	The Intruders	Howard Markby	[18]
	Laugh Killer Laugh	Orphanage Headmaster	[91]
	6 Ways to Die	Mike Jones	[92]
	Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn	Chief McClelland	Voice[14]
	If I Tell You I Have to Kill You	Dr. Richard Baum	[14]
2016
	Durant's Never Closes	Jack Durant	[88]
	Swap	Kyle Norris	[23]
	Halloweed	Vincent Modine	[93]
	Crossing Point	Pedro	[18]
	Wolf Mother	Jon	[94]
	Traded	Lew Crawford / Lavoie	[14]
	The Bronx Bull	Tony	[88]
	Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the 4th Reich	Master Sergeant O'Malley	[18]
	USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage	Chief Petty Officer McWhorter	[9]
	Better Criminal	Sergeant Mike Martin	[14]
	Calico Skies	Phoenix	[95][96]
2017	Secrets of Deception	Eddie Green	[23]
	Cross Wars	Detective Frank Nitti	[18]
	Joe's War	Captain Vickers	[97]
	Atomica	Darius Zek	[98]
	The Immortal Wars	"Bloodshed"	[18]
	Bad Frank	Mickey Duro	[31]
	College Ball	-	[18]
	Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House	FBI Agent Bill Sullivan	[70]
	A Chance in the World	John Sykes	[99]
	Blood Circus	Detective Jake Dawson	[100]
	Radical	CIA Agent McKitrick	[2]
2018	The Second Coming of Christ	Larry	[101]
	The Martyr Maker	CIA Agent Terry Davis	[14]
	Black Wake	Detective Michaels	[9]
	Speed Kills	Dwayne Franklin	[102]
	Nazi Overlord	Colonel Forrester	[18]
2019	Wish Man	Sergeant Mason	[103]
	Hell Girl	Jebidiha	[14]
	The Pining	Father William	[104]
	Abstruse	Max London	[105]
	I Believe	Don Carlo
	Cross 3	Detective Frank Nitti	[18]
2020
	C.L.E.A.N.	Mr. Wilkens, The Manager	[27]
2021
	Narco Sub	DEA Agent-In-Charge Craig Ford	[106]
	Central Park Dark	Thomas Winters	[26]
	Monstrous: Interview with a Killer	Gabriel Light	[14]
	The Trouble	Bob Carter	[18]
	Megalodon Rising	Commander Moore	[107]
	Hustle Down	Cully	[108]
2022	Vampfather	Dr. Oomious	[107]
	Damon's Revenge	Sheriff Walsh	[27]
	The Electric Man	Jace	[27]
	Impuratus	Detective Clayton Douglas	[108]
	Project Skyquake	Hank	[107]
	Bullet Train Down	Scott Madison	[27]
	Night of the Tommyknockers	Marshal Steed	[109]
	Battle for Pandora	Commander Hank Lewis	[2]
	Amber Road	Pluto	[27]
	An Hedonia, The Fallen	Bossman Roy	Short[18]
	The Legend of Jack and Diane	Detective Parker	[110]
2023	The Getter	Moe "Cadillac"	Posthumous release[111]
	Breakout	Chaz Coleman	Posthumous release[111]
	Made Vicious	Victor	Posthumous release[111]
	Mega Ape	Tom Goodwin	Posthumous release[111]
	Buckle Up	Lucas Bergman	Unreleased [111]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Gideon Oliver	Paul Slocum	Episode: "Sleep Well, Professor Oliver"[2]
1989–90	China Beach	Sergeant Vinnie Ventresca	Recurring cast: Season 3[11]
1998	Witness to the Mob	John Gotti	Television film[4]
1999	Witness Protection	Bobby "Bats" Batton	Television film[11]
2002
	Justice League	Metamorpho	Voice, episode: "Metamorphosis"[112]
2002–03	Robbery Homicide Division	Lieutenant Sam Cole	Main cast[4]
2004	Hustle	Pete Rose	Television film[70]
	Dr. Vegas	Vic Moore	Main cast[113]
2007	Shooting Sizemore	Himself	Main cast[11]
	Head Case	Himself	2 episodes[114]
2008	CSI: Miami	Kurt Rossi	Episode: "Down to the Wire"
2009	Southland	Timmy Davis	Episode: "See the Woman"[30]
2010	Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew	Himself	Main cast: Season 3[55]
	Celebrity Rehab Presents Sober House	Himself	Main cast: Season 2[25]
	Entourage	Himself	Episode: "Tequila Sunrise"[115]
	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	Byron the Trucker	Episode: "The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods"[9]
2011–12	Hawaii Five-0	Captain Vince Fryer	Recurring cast: Season 2[116]
2012
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lewis Hoda	Episode: "Manhattan Vigil"[citation needed]
2013	Dr. Phil	Himself	Episode: "Explosive Relationships"[4]
2014	Dark Haul	Knicks	Television film[117]
2014–15	The Red Road	Jack Kopus	Recurring cast[113]
2015	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lewis Hoda	Episode: "Depravity Standard"[citation needed]
	Exit Strategy	Jonathan Marks	Unaired pilot[23]
2016	Lucifer	Hank Cutter	Episode: "Favorite Son"[10]
	Undercover	Captain Rogers	Episode: "Is It Really What It Appears to Be?"
2016–2017	Shooter	Hugh Meachum	Recurring cast: "Season 1"[118]
2017	Twin Peaks	Anthony Sinclair	Recurring cast[citation needed]
2021	Scarlett	Joe Salvatore	Television film
2023	Barbee Rehab	Dr. Tom	Main cast[30]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Sonny Forelli	[114][112]
2006	24: The Game	Sid Wilson	[114][112]
2021	Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition	Sonny Forelli	Archival recordings Remaster of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City only.[119]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1994	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films	Best Supporting Actor[120]	Heart and Souls	Nominated
1998	Golden Satellite Award	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture[121]	Saving Private Ryan	Nominated
1999	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast[122]	Saving Private Ryan	Nominated
2000	Golden Globe Awards	Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television[123]	Witness Protection	Nominated
2006	XRCO Award	Best New Stud[4]	Triple-X Tom	Nominated
2021	IndieFEST Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor[24]	The Electric Man	Won
2022	Accolade Competition	Best Supporting Actor[24]	The Electric Man	Won
2022	Vegas Movie Awards	Best Supporting Actor[38]	Project Skyquake	Won
2022	Hollywood Blood Horror Festival	Best Supporting Actor[38]	Amber Road	Won

Book

• Sizemore, Tom (with Anna David) (April 9, 2013). By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There: A Memoir. Atria Books. ISBN 978-1-451-68167-3.