Tom Sizemore Passed at 61 — He Found Joy in Caring for Twins & Living near Mountains after Hitting 'Rock Bottom'

• Tom Sizemore was a Hollywood superstar and made millions of dollars throughout his acting career.
• However, he had a difficult period in his life, and as a result, left Hollywood, got divorced, disappeared from the screens for over ten years, and struggled with substance abuse.
• Before his death, Tom fixed his life: he stopped using, restored relations with his two sons, and lived quietly in a house by the mountains.

Veteran actor Tom Sizemore died after being hospitalized due to a brain aneurysm. Two weeks before his death, he collapsed at his Los Angeles home due to a stroke leading to an aneurysm.

Since his admission to the hospital on February 18, 2023, he was said to be in critical condition as he slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness.

Tom's manager, Charles Lago, confirmed his passing in a statement released to People and revealed he was surrounded by those he loved when he died, his brother Paul Sizemore and his twin sons, Jayden and Jagger.

"It is with great sadness and sorrow I have to announce that actor Tomas Edward Sizemore ("Tom Sizemore"), aged 61 passed away peacefully in his sleep today at St Joseph's Hospital Burbank," the statement read.

Paul also released a statement expressing his heartbreak and describing Tom as full of life, gifted, caring and generous, adding he had a knack for keeping one "entertained" with his wit and capacity to tell stories. Paul added that he would forever keep Tom in his heart.

Following the devastating news of the "Red" star's passing, Lago revealed the family would hold a private cremation service and that, in the following weeks, they would be hosting a larger event to celebrate his life.

Before his death, Tom revealed on his Instagram account that he was set to teach a weekly acting class at Harvelle's Nightclub in Los Angeles.

Tom rose to prominence when he starred in his first mainstream 1991 movie, "Point Break," where he played an uncredited DEA Agent. He later appeared in small films and had a breakout role in "True Romance" in 1993.

The following year, the Michigan native co-starred with actor Kevin Costner in "Wyatt Earp," followed by "Devil In a Blue Dress" alongside actor Denzel Washington, then "Heat" with actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in 1995.

However, Tom's big break came when he starred in the war drama film "Saving Private Ryan," in 1988, playing Sergeant Mike Horvath alongside A-listers Tom Hanks and Matt Damon.

Overall, he had 230 stints throughout his acting career and reportedly had 30 projects in development at the time of his passing.

After establishing himself as a star to be reckoned with, Tom's career took a knock after the 90s when he hit "rock bottom" due to his drug addiction.

He admitted that coming from the rough part of Detroit and having nothing to his name, then ending up in Hollywood and becoming famous only to lose it all was the most challenging part for him:

"[...] To have everything, a 24-hour cook, a 24-hour maid, the whole ball of wax. Several million dollars in the bank and job after job after job, then to have it so abruptly stop."

There were speculations that Tom's addictions made him homeless, but he set the record straight in a May 2017 interview, saying he lived in his car and then squatted for two years:

"I wasn't homeless but I had to fast sell my $7 million house. […] I could have bought something else, like a condo or something, but I wanted a house again."

Tom drove around in his vehicle for a few weeks, sincerely believing he would find money to purchase a "$5 million home." He even resorted to asking other people for money, including Jack Nicholson who blatantly refused to loan him $10 million.

Tom shared he ended up in Sylmar, California, where he moved into his friend's ramshackle guesthouse. But he experienced challenges living there because he had "no water, no electricity," he explained.

This all occurred in 2009, and it was during that period he knew he had to do something to turn his life back around, so he sought help by entering into a treatment program to curb his addiction. Still, he didn't get clean after participating in the said program.

Reflecting on how it began, Tom, whose mother Judith always cautioned him against using drugs as a teenager, revealed he started using in his early 30s – after arriving in Hollywood.

He recounted the first time he experimented at a party at the home of a well-known Hollywood star – whose name he didn't reveal. Tom divulged that drugs were distributed at the event, and he decided to indulge mainly because everyone around him were doing the same thing.

He recalled feeling a sudden euphoria, and at that moment, he could tell he had been "missing out" all along and realized why everyone else was also on cloud nine.

Two weeks later, he ended up getting addicted. He had a movie role lined up and he told himself that he would refrain from taking drugs, but that seemed easier said than done.

Tom attempted to inform his mom about his addiction but had trouble figuring out how he would break the news to her. When he came face-to-face with her, he failed to blurt it out and could not ask for help.

The "Relic" star – who has three brothers and a sister – admitted he frequently communicated with his mother two to three times daily, but he began to distance himself from her when he was using drugs.

When he finally made contact with Judith, she could tell over the phone that he was under the influence, but he would deny it. Eventually, he got caught and grew tired of being dishonest with his mother.

Tom admitted feeling "awful" lying to her and expressed deep regret for letting his mom down, even though she never told him how disappointed she was in him.

How Did He Spend His Last Years?

Eventually, Tom managed to get his life back on track as he got sober and returned to work. In 2017, he said it had been four years since he became clean, admitting the first two years were the most difficult.

The movie star had been in and out of rehab over the years and was arrested in 2007 and 2009 under drug-related charges. Tom spent 16 months overall in jail.

Tom briefly recovered in 2010 while appearing on "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew." However, he dropped the ball when two videos of him smoking drugs emerged later.

He fully recovered in 2013, and in 2017, he underwent surgery at a cosmetic clinic called the Beverly Hills Hair Group. The procedure involved removing hair follicles from the back of his head and implanting them where his hair thinned, leaving him with no scars.

Tom said the surgery helped him regain his confidence, and he felt better every day after that. He noted he could care less about what other people had to say about his hair because he had embraced it.

The "Black Hawk Down" star emphasized that he felt good about himself. He was working out a few times a week and was fit as ever. Tom believed the most important thing about his recovery was feeling like himself again and loving it.

After overcoming his life's struggles, Tom admitted he learned to "forgive" himself and became optimistic about the future again. He viewed his recovery and return to acting as his second act. "I'm a son and a father, and I'm going to stick there. I'm embracing Act II of my life," he said.

Tom did embrace his life to the fullest, and his rep attested to it following his passing on March 3, 2023. Lago stated that the past few years of Tom's life had been exceptional because he was determined to get his life back and be in a good place.

When asked what he did with his free time at the beginning of the year, Tom revealed, "I'm a voracious reader, I watch films, and as I'm a homebody, I like to stay at home in the usual warm in LA."

The "Natural Born Killers" star gave fans a glimpse of how he kept himself amused while at home in March 2020 by sharing a post on Facebook.

The Hollywood star, whose house has mountain views, posted a video of himself hitting a ball at night, and after taking a swing, he said, "Boom!" before sharing a laugh. "Staying entertained at home!" Tom captioned his post.

Caring for Twin Sons

Tom was a loving father of two, and his sons became his motivation to become better. He cared for them, and they stood by him until he took his last breath.

The award-winning star welcomed Jayden and Jagger with Janelle McIntire, whom he dated from 2003 until 2006. Upon the arrival of their kids in July 2005, Tom said he had a great desire to take care of them. Jayden and Jagger are now 17 years old.

In his book, "By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There: A Memoir," Tom discussed his parenting techniques and revealed how he disciplined his boys. "If they misbehave, I give them a 'time out,' but I try to tell them, I don't approve, but I love you," he penned.

Though he tried to be a good father, the SAG Award nominee expressed regret for creating a sense of absence in his children's lives. Tom divulged that his son Jagger would often ask whether he would be around or if he had someplace else to be. He admitted that such a question crushed him because he knew he had made them anxious about his presence in their lives by being away from them a lot.

Thus, when the Golden Globe nominee worked on becoming sober, he also intended to fix his relationship with his then 12-year-old kids. At the time, the siblings lived with their mother in Palm Springs.

Tom loved being a father and he spoke about being in good terms with his kids. However, he did admit that he felt terrible about missing out on a lot of their milestones because he was absent most of the time due to his addiction:

"I wasn't present when I was on drugs. I couldn't hear you. I couldn't read what you want, everything becomes kind of grey and flat. That's no way to live."

In the wake of his passing, Lago revealed Jayden and Jagger were left "devastated" by their beloved father's death. Before Tom died, doctors had advised his loved ones to consider ending his life because he would not recover from his condition.

The father of two was born on November 29, 1961, in Detroit and studied at Wayne State University. He graduated from Temple University in 1986 with a master's degree in theater.

His acting career spanned 30 years, and besides his film roles, he also appeared in six episodes of the television show "Twin Peaks" in 2017 and was the voice behind the 2002 video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" as Sonny Forelli.

Tom's last movie was "The Legend of Jack and Diane" in 2022. The star also has film projects coming out in 2023 and 2024. Tom had only been married once in his lifetime to actress Maeve Quinlan. The pair wed in 1996 and divorced in 1999.