Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. was an American actor. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he started his career with supporting appearances in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Lock Up (1989), and Blue Steel (1990). These appearances led to more prominent roles in films like Passenger 57 (1992), True Romance (1993), Striking Distance (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), Strange Days (1995), Heat (1995), and The Relic (1997).
Sizemore in 2011
Sizemore in 2010
Born on the Fourth of July (film)
Born on the Fourth of July is a 1989 American epic biographical anti-war film that is based on the 1976 autobiography of Ron Kovic. Directed by Oliver Stone, and written by Stone and Kovic, it stars Tom Cruise, Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Jerry Levine, Frank Whaley, and Willem Dafoe. The film depicts the life of Kovic (Cruise) over a 20-year period, detailing his childhood, his military service and paralysis during the Vietnam War, and his transition to anti-war activism. It is the second installment in Stone's trilogy of films about the Vietnam War, following Platoon (1986) and preceding Heaven & Earth (1993).
Theatrical release poster
Director Oliver Stone in February 1987
Tom Cruise (pictured in 1989) portrays Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic.
Ron Kovic attending the 62nd Academy Awards on March 26, 1990. He and Stone received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay twenty-two years to the day after he was injured.