Undoubtedly one of the greatest and most prolific actors of our era, Tom was born and raised in Detroit by his mother and philosophy-professor-turned-lawyer father.
It was always insisted that Tom and his siblings achieve brilliance in their educations, something he has continued to strive for in his career. Attending a Catholic boys school in the city, Tom managed to obtain straight "A" status but, having an ability to do a lot of work in a short amount of time, still found time to do his own thing.
At the age of 15 his parents divorced. It was around this time he saw two movies that would command the direction his life would go in. After seeing the films ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The Deer Hunter,’ and being so deeply affected by them, Tom decided he was going to be an actor. Finishing graduate school, he departed for New York to make important films and ended up as a waiter in the executive dining room of the World Trade Centre.
Eventually he got television breaks with 1988’s ‘China Beach’ and later ‘An American Story,’ before moving on to the big screen in roles alongside Tom Cruise (‘Born On The Fourth Of July’), Willem Dafoe (‘Flight Of The Intruder’) and Keanu Reeves (‘Point Break’).
Gradually the roles got bigger and Tom was beginning to get noticed, 1993 being a break-through year. The delightful ‘Heart And Souls’ was released at this time with Robert Downey Jr; Bruce Willis and Robert Pastorelli star with him in ‘Striking Distance’ and ‘Watch It!’
It was 1993’s ‘True Romance’ that really got people’s attention. Written by Quentin Tarantino, Tom had previously been beaten by Steve Buscemi for the role of Mr Pink in Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs.’ Tom’s portrayal of the character ‘Cody Nicholson,’ is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable parts of an already superb film. From then on there was no looking back!
In 1994 Tom starred in Kevin Costner’s western epic ‘Wyatt Earp.’ He played alongside Costner, Dennis Quaid, Bill Pullman and, his good friend, Michael Madsen. The film,originally to have been a mini-series, was gratefully received by both critics and theatre-goers and Tom climbed another rung of the show-biz ladder.
The same year the controversial (and still unreleased in the UK on video) Tarantino written and Oliver Stone directed ‘Natural Born Killers’ is released. The film itself goes largely misunderstood, but the actors’ portrayals are superb. Tom’s performance as the psychotic, anal ‘Jack Scagnetti’ remains, for fans, classic Sizemore. His work on the film is wonderful and disturbing all at once. ‘Natural Born Killers’ adds ‘cult icon’ to Tom’s resume.
Nineteen-ninety-five was a busy and extremely successful year with ‘Devil In A Blue Dress,’ ‘Strange Days’ and ‘Heat’ being released. All 3 are very different and very successful films. At the end of filming ‘Heat,’ Tom is admitted to a rehabilitation centre by his friend, and inspiration to go into acting, Robert De Niro. Thankfully, by the time he marries former tennis pro and ‘Bold And Beautiful’ star Maeve Quinlan, on Septemeber 1st, in 1996, he is fully recovered.
The following year sees the release of ‘The Relic.’ Tom is given leading man status and the film is a huge hit world wide. Tom’s portrayal of the bad tempered Lt Vincent D’agosta is, as always, second to none and he wins best actor award at the Madrid Film Festival, beating Al Pacino. He is also nominated for best horror actor in the Blockbuster video awards. In 1998 the film, recently released onto video rental, is flying out of video stores with a follow up rumoured.
Later this year ‘The Florentine’ with Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Luke Perry, Tom's own wife Maeeve Quinlan, and Jim Belushi is released, allegedly about the lives of steel workers in a small town who frequent a local bar. With actors of this calibre, the film, produced by Tom, promises great things.
Tom's appearance last year in ‘Saving Private Ryan,’for Stephen Spielberg’s ‘Dreamworks’ company has rightfully gained rave reviews. Tom stars with Tom Hanks in this war time drama, which is already being hailed by many as one of the greatest films ever made.
Currently working on 'Bringing Out The Dead' for Martin Scorsese, and soon to start work on 'Any Given Sunday' for Oliver Stone, Tom's best just keeps getting better.
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