Tom Sizemore is in a coma after a brain aneurysm and is unlikely to wake up again. The 61-year-old American actor has a large number of beautiful roles in well-known films to his name. Yet he has been absent from the silver screen in recent years; persistent drug use and multiple scandals got in the way of his once promising career.
Sizemore wordt in 1961 in de Amerikaanse stad Detroit geboren. Op straat is er veel criminaliteit en op jonge leeftijd begint hij met het gebruik van softdrugs en dealen.
In het acteren vindt Sizemore afleiding. Na de middelbare school kiest hij een theaterstudie en dat gaat hem goed af. “Ik was de ster van mijn klas. Ik nam het onwijs serieus”, schrijft hij in zijn memoires By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There (2016).
Sizemore verhuist naar New York en later naar Los Angeles. Hij ziet de grote stad als dé plek om door te breken als acteur. Al snel scoort hij er wat figurantenrolletjes.
In 1989 krijgt Sizemore de kans om mee te spelen in Born on the Fourth of July, een grote oorlogsfilm van regisseur Oliver Stone. De acteur speelt een aan een rolstoel gebonden oorlogsveteraan en is te zien naast Tom Cruise. De film zorgt ervoor dat het gezicht van Sizemore bekend wordt bij het grote publiek – en ook in Hollywood.
Hollywood brings temptations
The actor is often cast for gritty roles in action films and thrillers, such as criminals or characters with a turbulent past. Sizemore works with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. He can be seen in critically acclaimed titles like True Romance, Natural Born Killers in Heat. He plays his biggest role in Saving Private Ryan: In Spielberg’s award-winning 1998 war film, he plays a jaded sergeant.
Sizemore gets a spot on the A-list. But he also uses drugs heavily. “I met a lot of young stars and with one of them I sniffed cocaine for the first time. I thought: wow, do you have more of this?”, says the star in 2010 in conversation with presenter Larry King.
His drug use and its consequences are also noticed by colleague Robert De Niro, who wants to help Sizemore. He organizes an intervention for the actor. “Robert said to me, either you go to rehab or you go to jail.”
The aid is well-intentioned, but does little to change the situation. Still, Sizemore continues to be cast for roles. It helps that he plays a lot of rough characters. In the meantime, the actor even smuggles drugs such as meth to the film set, he says in his biography. “I really couldn’t function otherwise.” He receives a lot of support from his best friend Robert Downey Jr., who also struggled with addiction problems and can advise Sizemore on this.
Rehab on TV
The actor has an active love life. He has relationships with famous actresses such as Edie Falco, Elizabeth Hurley and Juliette Lewis. Most of the media attention goes to his relationship with Heidi Fleiss, who previously served a prison sentence for running an escort business. She accuses Sizemore of assault. He escapes jail time after paying a hefty compensation.
Also in his relationship with The Bold and the Beautifulactress Maeve Quinlan plays a major role in domestic violence. The actress says after their breakup that the abuse was the reason for the end of their relationship.
I didn’t come to Hollywood to drink or get high.
Unlike many other Hollywood stars, Sizemore is open about his drug use. He speaks about it in talk shows, writes a candid biography and makes a documentary series about it. In the program Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew he tries to kick the habit in front of the cameras. In retrospect, Sizemore says it didn’t exactly work out. “I was so under the influence that I can’t even remember the shots.”
His drug use gets the better of him and Sizemore is nowhere near as present on the silver screen as before. He will return in the 2017 remake of the series Twin Peaks. Critics and fans are enthusiastic, but the success does not last long.
Revived career is short-lived
In 2017 brings The Hollywood Reporter the story that Sizemore allegedly abused an eleven-year-old girl on the set of a 2003 film. The actor denies this. The judge later drops the case, but the reason for this is not disclosed.
Sizemore’s revived career is short-lived: the news tarnishes his image. He is no longer asked for larger productions. He does play in dozens of films that do not make it to the silver screen.
If it had been up to Sizemore, his life would have turned out very differently. “I didn’t come to Hollywood to drink or get high,” he says in his memoir. “It wasn’t my goal to be a cool actor – I just want to be a great actor.”
