Just Deserts: Actor Tom Sizemore (1961-2023)
Swagger, warmth and a wink from a troubled and great American actor
“There was something about the alienation and beauty of actors like Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando and James Dean that captivated me,” actor Tom Sizemore wrote in his memoir. “Still, it was more than reverence that I had for them…” Sizemore, a convicted criminal who died after struggling with drug addiction—the scourge of our times—and suffering a stroke last month, was born in Detroit and raised in a home near Tiger Stadium. He had been vilified and ridiculed in the press over his priapism—a painful condition in which an erection lasts for an extended time period—and claims that were magnified by the Me, Too movement.
Sizemore admitted in the 2016 memoir that he had attempted suicide. Besides his engagement to Heidi Fleiss, a pimp for high-priced prostitutes, who later accused him of abuse, Sizemore was known as a remarkable character actor. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he recalled that, as a boy, his dad and uncle took him to see Taxi Driver, which prompted him to pursue a career in acting. He later worked with the film’s leading actor, Robert De Niro, whom he said also initiated an intervention over Sizemore’s heroin use. De Niro reportedly arranged for him to enter rehabilitation. “…[H]ere [De Niro] is…[and] I’m in his car and he’s driving me to the airport, he’s telling me that the gig is up, he’s telling me I’m a wonderful actor, that he’s not gonna let me die. ‘I love you,’ he told me, ‘like you’re my son.’”
Sizemore, who earned a theater degree from Wayne State University and a master’s in performance art from Philadelphia’s Temple University, died at a Catholic hospital in Burbank, California. He was 61. His brother, Paul, released a statement:
I am deeply saddened by the loss of my big brother Tom. He was larger than life. He has influenced my life more than anyone I know. He was talented, loving, giving and could keep you entertained endlessly with his wit and storytelling ability. I am devastated he is gone and will miss him always.”
I did not know the actor. My knowledge of his work is limited to several performances in a number of motion pictures. As far as I can tell, Sizemore’s work was outstanding. Of course, his name appeared in the press for many reasons unrelated to his acting career. I think the lesson of his life is sad and profound. Apparently, he tried to want to live and thrive. Current cultural trends made what appears to have been a valiant effort markedly more difficult.
This should surprise no one. Sizemore was accused 20 years ago of child molestation. He immediately denied the allegation, calling the claims false and “so disturbing that I feel compelled to go against my legal team’s advice and speak out.” A district attorney opted not to charge Tom Sizemore “due to witness and evidence problems.” Yet he was dropped from jobs. When the same allegations were made for a lawsuit by the now-adult seeking $3 million in damages against Sizemore, he again denied the accusations. Ultimately, a judge dismissed the lawsuit.
Sizemore typically played criminals, cops and soldiers. He also played a gay serial killer. He worked with directors Michael Mann, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Michael Bay, appearing in Black Hawk Down, Enemy of the State, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, Passenger 57, Striking Distance and he portrayed Bat Masterson in Wyatt Earp. Sizemore memorably played a sergeant in the U.S. Army in Saving Private Ryan.
Tom Sizemore’s performance in that grueling, epic war movie vastly improved the film. Sizemore’s was a small role. But he captured the essence of the American G.I. He crafted emotional power into every moment, making the film matter to millions of American men who had been drafted and were living their final days while summoning the courage to see a seminal movie and risk re-activating agonizing memories of combat. Tom Sizemore made achieving a sense of peace easier by rendering a warm yet gruff and weary, coarsened demeanor in a soldier that evokes the memory of—and cinematic memorial for—every ordinary American lost in an arguably wrong war.
To me, Tom Sizemore’s best role reflects his troubled life. It is a different role in a different movie. Hollywood doesn’t make this type of movie anymore and, when it tries, it’s usually mangled by overindulgence and trivialization. This year marks the 30th anniversary—movie review to come—of the release of Heart and Souls. In this movie, which expresses Americanism, innocence and love for life, Tom Sizemore plays Milo, a thief who learns to redeem himself. In the moment when he does—in a scene opposite a character played by Robert Downey, Jr.—early in the picture, your heart stops, you catch your breath, and, for the first time in the motion picture (which, until then, is light, frivolous and cheerful), you realize the magnitude of a loss of life and the cost of making irrational choices. Tom Sizemore, capturing a flawed Everyman while depicting with swagger the perfect mea culpa, did that. This is what I will remember.
Thank you for the interesting article. I always liked his work. I can add one tale. A producer really wanted Sizemore for a very low budget film but did not have much money. So he watched carefully and sort of 'pounced' on Sizemore at the moment he got out of jail. Sizemore took the role at what I'm sure was a significantly reduced rate compared to his usual pay check. (I suspect that this was a manifestation of Sizemore's enthusiasm for acting.) How the film did I'm not sure.
"Heart and Souls" has long been a favorite movie for me, and I've also been a fan of Tom Sizemore's acting through the years-- so many great roles. Thank you, Scott, for the reminder.