Veteran star Tom Sizemore passed away on Friday after a strenuous fight with a brain aneurysm. His manager, Charles Lago, confirmed to the press that the actor died peacefully in his sleep in St. Joseph’s Hospital Burbank. Sizemore was 61.
Sizemore was finally taken off life support after being confined at the hospital following his brain aneurysm condition that occurred on February 18. The actor’s brother, Paul, and twins Jayden and Jagger remained at his side during his last hours.
Tom Sizemore Battled With Brain Aneurysm That Left Him In A Coma For Days
The report of Tom Sizemore’s death came after Lago revealed his critical condition on Monday. The manager previously mentioned that the “doctors informed his family that there is no further hope and have recommended end-of-life decision.” The actor’s sudden collapse in his Los Angeles home resulted in a brain aneurysm as an effect of a stroke. He remained in a coma for several days.
Paul Sizemore said in a statement via Variety:
“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.”
Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr., better known as Tom Sizemore, was born on Nov. 29, 1961, in Detroit, and moved to New York to pursue acting. One of his first movie credits included an appearance in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July.
Sizemore was popularly known for his tough-guy roles. He gained fame by appearing in films such as Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Passenger 57, True Romance, and Natural Born Killers. The actor’s biggest break came in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, where he played Sgt. Mike Horvath.
In his 2013 memoir, By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There, Sizemore said he had a wonderful time working with Tom Hanks. He also mentioned that they sort of played the ‘good Tom’ and the ‘bad Tom’ and fans could easily tell who was which.
“My character’s real purpose in the movie was to keep Hanks’s character alive and make sure that the other men didn’t see that he was falling apart. At the end of the shoot, Tom wrote me a beautiful note about how he’d never forget making the movie with me.”
Saving Private Ryan dominated the Academy Awards, winning a best picture nomination and four more Oscars, including best director for Steven Spielberg. Sizemore’s other notable projects included Pearl Harbor, Heat, and the Twin Peaks series.
Sizemore Shared His Journey To Recovery In His Memoir
Tom Sizemore was open about his struggle with substance addiction. In his memoir, he revealed that co-star Robert De Niro urged him to attend rehab. The Heat actor told Access Hollywood:
“I walked in to see my shrink, and I walked in, and there were all these people there… and I sit down and Bob (De Niro) came in and goes, ‘OK. OK, now we can talk… Now you listen to me, I’m no psychiatrist… but you’re either going to go to rehab or go to prison, and in walks a cop.”
The actor shared that he tried to escape going to rehab, saying he still had his prosthetics on after filming and asked his driver to bring him to the Loews Hotel. He checked in under a different name, although De Niro was able to track him down.
Sizemore is reportedly still linked to 34 projects that are still either in post-production, in production, or pre-production, as per IMDb. His last completed works include an episode on the Cobra Kai series and the Bermuda Island film.
Source: Variety, Access Hollywood
