He was 61 years old
The American actor Tom Sizemore, known for his roles in the films “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Heat”, died at the age of 61, his manager said, quoted by the BBC.
Sizemore rose to fame in the 1990s, often playing supporting roles as tough guys – usually military, police or criminals. He participated in famous films such as “Born to Kill”, “Pearl Harbor” and “Black Hawk”.
The actor had drug problems and was convicted of domestic violence. Sizemore was in a coma after suffering a brain aneurysm on February 18.
Born in a working-class Detroit neighborhood, Sizemore broke into Hollywood with a small role in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July in 1989. Stone re-cast him in the controversial Born to Kill for the role of brutal detective Jack Scanetti. He later starred with Robert De Niro in The Heat.
With fame and money came a drug habit – in his autobiography he wrote about his addiction to heroin and methamphetamines.
He recounts how De Niro pushed him toward one of his stints in rehab in 1995, telling Sizemore he would “get him arrested for possession of heroin” if he didn’t go to a treatment center. Sizemore chose rehab.
While filming Saving Private Ryan, director Steven Spielberg threatened to fire the actor at the first sign of drug use and reshoot the movie without him. But Sizemore fought and stayed clean. Later, he continued to suffer from his “personal demons”.
“I was a guy who started from nothing and worked his way to the top,” Sizemore wrote in his 2013 autobiography. “.
Source: BGNES
