Tom Sizemore, A Troubled but Memorable Actor
Tom Sizemore, an actor frequently and rightfully labelled as “troubled” over the course of his career, has passed away after suffering a brain aneurysm from a stroke at his Los Angeles home in the early morning of Feb. 19.
Sizemore, who was one of the most memorable stars of the 90s, owned every second he appeared on the screen in everything from Heat to True Romance to Saving Private Ryan. The famous actor had long-standing drug problems and in 2003 spent seven months in prison on domestic abuse charges.
According to Rolling Stone, Sizemore was found unconscious at his home and was kept alive on a ventilator for the past two weeks. His family made the difficult decision to remove him from life support over the weekend, and he subsequently “passed away peacefully in his sleep”.
Grand Theft Auto developers, Rockstar Games, released a statement following his passing, pointing out that “effortless cool and phenomenal character work” by Sizemore had been “an inspiration to all of us” years before Vice City.
The game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City opens with Sizemore’s performance. Despite being miles away from where the game’s actually set, you will barely see his face and yet he’s entrusted with setting up the whole damn thing, tone, and all, and he absolutely nails it. Even when you can tell the parts where he’s just reading off a script with a little idea of the context or what’s coming, it’s still good.
Tom Sizemore will be remembered as an iconic 90s actor whose effortless cool and phenomenal character work inspired the film and gaming industry.
