His manager, Charles Lago, confirmed that Tom Sizemore died after he was taken off life support diverse Friday. The 61-year-old actor suffered from a brain aneurysm on February 18.
“It is with great sadness that I announce that actor Thomas Edward Sizemore (Tom Sizemore) passed away peacefully at the age of 61 in his sleep today at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank,” Lago said in a statement. His brother Paul and twin boys Jayden and Jagger (17) were at his side.
Lago had previously said on February 27 that “doctors told his family there was no other hope and recommended the decision to end life.”
On February 18, Sizemore collapsed at his Los Angeles home and was taken to the hospital by paramedics. There, doctors determined that he had suffered a brain aneurysm as a result of a stroke. Sizemore has remained in critical condition since then and has been in a coma under intensive care.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of my big brother, Tom,” his brother, Paul Sizemore, said in a statement. “He was larger than life. He touched my life more than anyone I knew. He was talented, loving, tender and could keep you endlessly entertained with his wit and storytelling ability. I regret that he is gone and will always miss him.”
Born in Detroit on November 29, 1961, Sizemore moved to New York City to pursue acting in the 1980s. One of his first credits came in 1989 with an appearance in Oliver Stone’s Best nominated “Born on the Fourth of July”.
Known for playing tough guys, he was known in the 1990s for movies like “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man”, “Passenger 57”, “True Romance” and “Natural Born Killers”. He got his big break in Steven Spielberg’s 1998 war film “Saving Private Ryan,” in which he played Technical Sergeant Mike Horvath. Saving Private Ryan went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Along with his co-stars, who include Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, Sizemore earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Motion Picture. Over the course of his career, Sizemore has worked with directors including Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, Peter Hyams, Carl Franklin, Oliver Stone, Ridley Scott, and Michael Bay.
Sizemore was also convicted of maltreatment. In 2003, he was found guilty of domestic violence against his girlfriend at the time, and in 2017 Sizemore pled no contest to two counts of domestic violence after he was arrested a few months earlier on suspicion of assaulting his partner.
In 2005, Sizemore was sentenced to several months in prison after being caught trying to fake a urine test. In 2007, he was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, and in 2019, he was arrested for possession of “many illegal drugs.” Sizemore has been public about his struggles with substance abuse, appearing on “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” and “Dr. Phil” to discuss his legal troubles.
In 1998, the actor shared that his “Heat” and “Witness to the Mob” co-star, Robert De Niro, personally helped help Sizemore enter a drug rehabilitation program. In 2013, the actor released a memoir detailing his career and personal battle with addiction, titled By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There.
Sizemore is survived by his two children, Jagger and Jayden. There will be a private cremation service for the Sizemore family, with a larger celebration of the life event planned in a few weeks.
