Tom Sizemore
Birthday:
29 November 1961, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Birth Name:
Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr.
Height:
180 cm
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 idol...
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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 reshoot 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 continues to be a favourite of Hollywood's greatest directors. Never afraid to speak his mind about anyone and anything, his sense of blunt honesty and lack of pretension is refreshing. A commanding voice and presence on film, Sizemore looks to continue as one of Hollywood's greatest actors. Show less «
"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, th...Show more »
"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). Show less «
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...Show more »
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. Show less «
"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 ...Show more »
"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). Show less «
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 an...Show more »
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. Show less «
Temptation is impossible for me to resist...Come on. This is Hollywood. It's in the job description.
Temptation is impossible for me to resist...Come on. This is Hollywood. It's in the job description.
"I was the star of the class. I got the best roles. I was a very serious actor. Besides me, no one from that class has done anything in the ...Show more »
"I was the star of the class. I got the best roles. I was a very serious actor. Besides me, no one from that class has done anything in the business." - On his time as a drama student at Temple University. Show less «
"You must have to want it so badly, if there is any way you can live without it, get out of it. Being an unsuccessful actor is like having a...Show more »
"You must have to want it so badly, if there is any way you can live without it, get out of it. Being an unsuccessful actor is like having a skin disease. Make sure your passion is not misplaced." - On advice to aspiring actors. Show less «
"Steven [Steven Spielberg] said he was going to give me a second chance, but that he would have me tested throughout the shoot. He said that...Show more »
"Steven [Steven Spielberg] said he was going to give me a second chance, but that he would have me tested throughout the shoot. He said that even if I only started using on the last day of production he'd recast the part and re-shoot everything. He didn't want to be part of my problem." - On his drug problem and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Show less «
"For years I fooled myself into thinking I could or even was getting off drugs. People knew I was using but they still hired me for their fi...Show more »
"For years I fooled myself into thinking I could or even was getting off drugs. People knew I was using but they still hired me for their films. I was grateful back then, but it was what contributed to my downward spiral. People talk about my bizarre behaviour at the 1995 Toronto Film Festival when we were promoting Devil in a Blue Dress (1995). I was so high during that period I don't remember making the movie, let alone promoting it." - Quote from 2001. Show less «
(2012, on playing Pete Rose in Hustle) I thought my performance was really, really good. I did. Some critics did and some critics didn't, an...Show more »
(2012, on playing Pete Rose in Hustle) I thought my performance was really, really good. I did. Some critics did and some critics didn't, and a lot of people didn't like Pete Rose. I met him; he's easy not to like. I happen to like him. I happen to like him because I was playing him, also. He yelled at me once. "Do you know what it's like to be up in the ninth inning of the World Series with two men on base, you're down by one, there's a 3-2 coming, and you need to get a base hit to win?" I said, "Of course not. I've never been a Major League Baseball player." Then I was about to ask him, "Do you know what it's like to be in front of a camera?" And before I said that, he screamed, "Shut the fuck up!" I said, "Okay." And I knew that it was his story and he was trying to convey to me the pressure, this enormous pressure that he'd been under since he was a young man. Nineteen years old, starting as a shortstop for the Reds and how that pressure became something that he became addicted to conquering. And when he retired as an athlete, the pressure was still succeeding and meeting that challenge. [He] found his way into gambling-he gambled as a player, but he said it went up exponentially, like, 10 times worse after he retired. It was to try to recapture that feeling of, "Wait, I've got to do this. I've got to come through." And it was very, very helpful to me. Show less «
(2012, on Zyzzyx Road) I don't want to talk about that movie. Who really cares? I had fun. I was in legal turmoil. I had a good time doing i...Show more »
(2012, on Zyzzyx Road) I don't want to talk about that movie. Who really cares? I had fun. I was in legal turmoil. I had a good time doing it. It's just not a very good movie. The female, Katherine Heigl, is wonderful. Katherine Heigl was a movie star. I thought she was going to be one, and it was fun to watch this young actress getting better every day. Show less «
(2012, on Paparazzi) [Producer] Mel [Gibson] was "Melvin." I was in legal hot water, so that was a very difficult movie for me to do. But th...Show more »
(2012, on Paparazzi) [Producer] Mel [Gibson] was "Melvin." I was in legal hot water, so that was a very difficult movie for me to do. But the set was the only place where I got any kind of release and that was really good for me. I didn't really enjoy the character so much as I enjoyed being with the crew and being with Mel. Cole [Hauser] was great. It was a difficult time in my life, and it was the beginning of this bullshit that thankfully is over. Thank the Lord. But it wasn't the best movie I ever made. Show less «
(2012, on Strange Days) It was a great movie, man. [That year's] Oscar movies are really good. Back in the 1990s, I didn't know I was living...Show more »
(2012, on Strange Days) It was a great movie, man. [That year's] Oscar movies are really good. Back in the 1990s, I didn't know I was living in a really great period of movie-making. That movie got largely ignored because Seven just blew us out of the water. It came out the same weekend as Seven. They ignored Strange Days, and it was a great movie. The shoot was 17 weeks and nights. It was hard. It was a really hard movie. It was one of the hardest movies I ever did because I was not healthy. I was wearing down. I was just working a lot, and for 17 weeks and nights I was breaking up with Juliette (Lewis). We were in the movie together, and it was a very difficult time in my life. I was starting to make a lot of money, and I didn't know what to do with it. I was going through a lot of changes. I realized I really had made it, that this dream I had as a kid in Detroit was a reality. I was working with the best people in the business over and over again. And that was both incredibly satisfying and created this internal pressure. You've got to keep up the standard. Show less «
(2012, on True Romance) I was cast in the part James Gandolfini ended up playing, initially. I got a call from [casting director] Risa Bramo...Show more »
(2012, on True Romance) I was cast in the part James Gandolfini ended up playing, initially. I got a call from [casting director] Risa Bramon and I said, "I didn't want to beat Patricia Arquette's ass on camera. I don't want to do that." Tony [Scott], God rest his soul, called me. It's a shame what happened to him, but those were the halcyon days for him. He called me and said, [adopts aggressive British accent] "Man, you're bullshitting me! Come on, man!" And Patricia's his friend. Previously I had been up for Days Of Thunder. I said, "I just don't want to do it. I don't want to beat up Patricia." He said, "Why not?" And all I could say was, "Because I don't want to do it." I was still living in New York and I was sitting on my brownstone's front steps. I said, "Why don't I play Nicholson to Chris Penn's Nicky Dimes?" And he said, "Who will play the other part?" I said, "James Gandolfini?" At that point Jimmy hadn't even done a movie yet. I knew Jimmy from the theater, and I flew out to L.A. I didn't have to read. Jimmy flew up there the day after, and he went for that part. He got cast in it. I played Nicholson and it was great, especially [the] two scenes that were completely improvised, when we interrogate Bronson (Pinchot). Tony just told us, "You've got to just react. Say what you want. Just don't talk over each other." That's the kind of experience it was. It was kind of a rock 'n' roll, just running and gunning kind of thing. It was a different type of movie for Tony. You could tell he was really, really digging it, and everyone was on their game. Show less «
(2012, on landing Point Break) Kathryn Bigelow and I became really good friends on Blue Steel, her second movie, and subsequently she asked ...Show more »
(2012, on landing Point Break) Kathryn Bigelow and I became really good friends on Blue Steel, her second movie, and subsequently she asked me to do that part in Point Break. I thought it'd do well, but I said, "I can't do this." The part was too small. Willem Dafoe and I were good friends long before we were best friends, and Willem said to me, "Why don't you do it unbilled?" I didn't know what that meant, so I asked him what it meant and I read it again. And he's like, "Come on, do it. It will be fun." She'd also mentioned this other movie, Strange Days, to me and said I might be right for it, but that wasn't really an inducement. It was kind of an inducement, but there were no promises made. I just loved working with her, and my part in Point Break only took a couple of days. But it was a very memorable scene, and I got to be really good friends with Anthony Kiedis. John McGinley and I were friends from New York. So it was a really good experience. Show less «
Tom Sizemore's Photos
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Tom Wolls
Large Bills
Frank
Tony
Sergeant Horvath
Tom
Det. Danny Detillo
Michael Cheritto
Ricks
Chance Wilder
Sgt. Earl Sistern
Owen
DeWitt Albright
Tony 'The Hip' Anzaldo
Milo Peck
Dallas
Sly Delvecchio
Det. Jack Scagnetti
McKnight
Cody Nicholson
Glen
Dr. Quinn Burchenal
Timmy Davis
Bernie Fryer
Kurt Rossi
Metamorpho
Lt. Vincent D'Agosta
Bat Masterson
Nick
Larry
Hugh Meachum
Hank Cutter
Max Peltier
Detective Michaels
Capt. Vincent Fryer
Kurt Rossi
