Was Tom Sizemore sick? His life-long addiction struggles

Tom Sizemore died on 3rd March 2023 after doctors recommended that his family take him off life support. Sizemore was rushed to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after he was found unconscious at home. The Saving Private Ryan star was in critical condition and a coma.

After observing Sizemore for two weeks, doctors concluded that Sizemore couldn’t recover. “Today, doctors informed his family that there is no further hope and have recommended an end-of-life decision,” Sizemore’s representative, Charles Lago, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We are asking for privacy for his family during this difficult time.”

Sizemore wasn’t sick but struggled with addiction for most of his life

As far as we can tell, Tom Sizemore wasn’t sick. He was still working and will appear in three 2023 films: The Getter, Breakout, and Made Vicious.

It’s unclear whether Sizemore had overcome his addiction problems. Sizemore struggled with addiction for most of his life. Sizemore abused alcohol, crystal meth, cocaine, and heroin. The actor said that at the peak of his career in the mid-90s, Robert De Niro tried to force him into rehab, but Sizemore refused.

Sizemore told Larry King that he was sober from 1997 to 2002. Sizemore told Dr. Phil that De Niro correctly predicted that Sizemore would end up in legal trouble due to his drug use. In October 2004, Sizemore pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine.

He avoided jail time but didn’t stop using. In 2007, he spent several months in jail for a similar offense. “God’s trying to tell me he doesn’t want me using drugs because every time I use them I get caught,” Sizemore told The Associated Press.

From 2010 to 2011, Sizemore participated in Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. In 2017, Sizemore told The Daily Mail that he was four years sober:

“My life’s gotten a lot better, it’s been a real chronicle. I was in a really bad place. I’m coming up on four years sober, it was really difficult, the first two years were miserable. I thought I’d never smile again. But I am smiling again, you’ve got to stick around until you feel better.”

Sizemore relapse landed him in legal trouble in early 2019: the police found illegal narcotics in his vehicle following a traffic stop. The actor struck a plea deal forcing him to complete a yearlong drug prevention program. A year later, he was arrested for possessing a controlled substance and driving under the influence.

It’s unclear whether Sizemore’s addiction contributed to his death.