Tom Sizemore: Saving Private Ryan actor dies at 61 after brain aneurysm

Tom Sizemore had been placed into a coma in intensive care before he died. Credit: AP Photo/John Carucci, File

US actor Tom Sizemore, known for roles in films including, Saving Private Ryan, Point Break and Natural Born Killers, has died at the age of 61. Sizemore had been placed into a coma in intensive care since suffering a brain aneurysm and collapsing at his Los Angeles home on February 18. He died in his sleep on Friday at a hospital in Burbank, California, his manager Charles Lago confirmed to the AP news agency. Shortly before his death, the actor’s family announced that they were “now deciding end-of-life matters”. Sizemore’s first major appearance was in the 1989 Oliver Stone film Born On The Fourth Of July.

The performance opened doors in Hollywood and he carved out a niche playing the quintessential hardman, from gangsters to bodyguards and soldiers. He secured supporting roles in blockbusters such as Point Break, True Romance and Natural Born Killers.

Tom Sizemore salutes in honour of Memorial Day at the Mexican-American All Wars Memorial in Los Angeles. Credit: AP Photo/Nick Ut, File

Sizemore was widely praised for his portrayal of professional thief Michael Cheritto in the heist film 1995 Heat, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

“I was a guy who’d come from very little and risen to the top. I’d had the multimillion-dollar house, the Porsche, the restaurant I partially owned with Robert De Niro,” the Detroit-born actor wrote in his 2013 memoir, By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There.

“And now I had absolutely nothing.”

The book’s title was taken from a line uttered by his character in Saving Private Ryan, the Oscar-winning 1998 film in which he was at Tom Hanks' side as the loyal Sergeant Horvath.

As well as films, he also made a memorable contribution to the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City voicing mob boss Sonny Forelli. Sizemore had a history of drug addiction, details of which he shared in his autobiography. He was married to actress Maeve Quinlan, known for her role in US soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful, between 1996 and 1999. In 2003, he was convicted of domestic violence charges against former girlfriend Heidi Fleiss, and was ordered to complete a drug rehabilitation programme before beginning a jail term. He is survived by his 17-year-old twin sons, Jayden and Jagger, and his brother Paul, all of whom were reportedly by his side when he died.

Listen to Unscripted - our arts and entertainment podcast