- Born
- Died
- Birth nameThomas Edward Sizemore Jr.
- Nickname
- Tommy
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Tom Sizemore rose in prominence throughout the 1990s, establishing himself as a memorable tough-guy actor, sought by the most respected directors in the business.
Thomas Edward Sizemore, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Judith (Schannault), an ombudsman staff member, and Thomas Edward Sizemore, Sr., a lawyer and professor. Sizemore grew up idolizing the tough-guy characters of the movies he watched. After attending Wayne State University, he got his master's degree in theatre from Temple University in 1986.
Like many, he moved to New York City and struggled, waiting tables and performing in plays. His first break came when Oliver Stone cast him in a bit part in Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Bigger roles soon followed throughout the early 1990s, such as Guilty by Suspicion (1991), True Romance (1993), and Striking Distance (1993). 1994 proved to be an even bigger year for Sizemore, as he won the role of "Bat Masterson" in Kevin Costner's star-studded biopic Wyatt Earp (1994), as well as one of his first truly memorable roles as "Detective Jack Scagnetti" in Oliver Stone's controversial Natural Born Killers (1994). In 1995 he appeared in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Strange Days (1995), as well as the acclaimed crime epic Heat (1995), directed by Michael Mann. Sizemore's first big leading role is in The Relic (1997), the big-budget effects thriller directed by Peter Hyams.
According to a 2001 interview in The Calgary Sun, Sizemore entered a drug rehabilitation program in 1998 after his mother and his friend Robert De Niro appeared on his door-step during the filming of Witness to the Mob (1998). Telling him they were there to drive him to jail or to rehabilitation, Sizemore chose the latter. After completing rehabilitation, he counseled adolescents involved in substance abuse.
Offered roles in W.W.II films directed by both Terrence Malick and Steven Spielberg, Sizemore chose the role of "Sergeant Horvath" in Saving Private Ryan (1998). The role and film received wide acclaim and introduced Sizemore's talents to a much broader audience in a more human and well-rounded role than he had previously been given. Sizemore also credits this shoot and Steven Spielberg for helping him with his recovery from addiction, with Steven Spielberg threatening to re-shoot the entire film if Sizemore failed a drug test even once.
After a flamboyant and uncredited mobster role in Enemy of the State (1998), Sizemore then portrayed a psychotic paramedic in Bringing Out the Dead (1999) directed by Martin Scorsese. Seemingly taking it easy, he then turned in fine but stereotypical performances in Play It to the Bone (1999), Red Planet (2000), and Pearl Harbor (2001). Sizemore then received another leading role in the high-profile military drama Black Hawk Down (2001) directed by yet another legendary director, Ridley Scott.
Specializing in the sort of ultimate tough-guy/manly man roles that hearken back to a different era in film, Sizemore continued to be a favorite of Hollywood's greatest directors. Never afraid to speak his mind about anyone and anything, his sense of blunt honesty and lack of pretension was refreshing. A commanding voice and presence on film, Sizemore looked to continue as one of Hollywood's greatest actors, until his untimely death from a brain aneurysm on March 3, 2023.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Brian Stewart
- SpouseMaeve Quinlan(September 1, 1996 - November 19, 1999) (divorced)
- ChildrenJaydenJagger
- ParentsJudith SizemoreThomas Edward Sizemore
- RelativesAaron Sizemore(Sibling)
- portly figure
- Frequently cast as authoritative figures such as military or law enforcement.
- According to a 2001 interview with The Calgary Sun, he credits Robert De Niro with turning his life around during the filming of Witness to the Mob (1998). De Niro showed up on his doorstep with Tom's mother and told him they were there to drive him to jail or rehab. He chose rehab.
- Had his nose accidentally broken by Juliette Lewis during the filming of the prison cell fight scene in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994).
- Auditioned six times for the part of Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs (1992).
- In February 2005, he failed a court-ordered drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results, the second time he has been caught trying this.
- To prepare for Natural Born Killers (1994), Tom met with Ted Bundy's psychiatrist and John Wayne Gacy.
- "Strangling that girl was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Number one, it was her first movie. Two, she was really nice. And three, there she was in Winslow, Arizona - the middle of nowhere - with me and Oliver Stone, and she had to get raped and murdered." About his role in Natural Born Killers (1994).
- I'm a very fortunate actor. I'm blessed to be the position I'm in right now. Hell, I'm blessed to be in any position, you know? There are so many guys who had good lives, great lives, and blew it....I think there are some guys who think they don't deserve to have good lives. They feel they don't deserve their good fortune, so they throw it away. One of my good friends was Chris Farley. Chris blew it. He blew the whole enchilada.
- "When he hired me, Oliver [Oliver Stone] said, 'I'm making a table. I have four legs already - Robert Downey Jr., Juliette Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson. And I'm going to have a fifth leg on my table. And if that leg is wobbly, my table is a very fucked-up table, and things fall off of it. You're not going to be a wobbly leg, are ya?' And I said, "No. I won't, I won't, I won't fuck up your table." - On getting the part in Natural Born Killers (1994).
- I was a wayward kid, a rambunctious and angry teenager, but I found acting as a fifteen-year-old. I saw some movies with Montgomery Clift and James Dean, and I read biographies about them - then Marlon Brando - and I got it in my head that I wanted to be an actor. The first scene I did in an acting class was from "In the Boom Boom Room", by David Rabe. I played "Big Al". It was a very violent and emotional scene, and I liked that - I realized I had it in me.
- Temptation is impossible for me to resist...Come on. This is Hollywood. It's in the job description.
- Red Planet (2000) - $2,000,000
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