By Gabrielle Gillen
Gary Sinise walked Movieguide®’s Robby Baehr and Jeremy Carroll through his illustrious career, from his theater company in Chicago to building a life in Hollywood.
“I started a theater company with my pals in Chicago called Steppenwolf Theatre,” Sinise shared on Baehr and Carroll’s “We Who Dad” podcast.
The troupe included his future wife, Moira, and celebrated actors John Malkovich and John Mahoney.
“A few years later,” he explained, “I started directing some plays that were doing pretty well…We would move them to New York City, and John Malkovich and I did one called ‘True West’ by Sam Shepard…It was a big, big hit.”
For the next five or so years, Steppenwolf Theatre continued producing plays in NYC. The company was a springboard for several actors: Malkovich’s success in “True West” led to screen roles, and Mahoney’s performance in “Orphans” led to film and TV work, including FRASIER.
Sinise recalled, “I as a director was getting a lot of attention, and some folks from Hollywood saw this play…[David Puttnam] invited me to come out to Hollywood and have a movie deal at Columbia Pictures.”
But before the move to Hollywood, Sinise saw some large changes in his personal life. Before accepting that deal in 1987, he and Moira married six years prior.
In their early years of marriage, the couple often lived apart, Sinise performing in New York for six months of the year while Moira acted in Chicago.
“We were just all over the place,” Sinise admits.
But their dedication paid off. Within a few years, Steppenwolf was awarded the Best Regional Theatre Award from the Tonys.
Once in Hollywood, Sinise got his first directing job with MILES FROM HOME, starring Richard Gere. Around the same time, he and Moira welcome his first daughter, Sophie.
Related: Gary Sinise Announces Completion of Late Son’s Musical Project
“We were starting our family at the same time that the career was starting to kind of take off,” Sinise says. “FORREST GUMP came a few years later, and that exploded the acting career, you know, into a kind of new area.”
Over time, Sinise became more thoughtful about the roles he choose. He passed on playing a child kidnapper in RANSOM, starring Mel Gibson. Sinise explained, “I think it was the fact that having young children, I just couldn’t picture myself doing this villain part.” But he eventually accepted. “Once I accepted it…it became really fun to play the bad guy and just kind of torture Mel Gibson for two hours and then get paid back at the end,” Sinise shared cheekily.
Baehr reflected, “If God wants you to have something…sometimes it comes back around anyway.”
Sinise also dedicated much of his time helping veterans. After playing Lt. Dan in FORREST GUMP, Sinise supported wounded and disabled veterans. Following 9/11, Sinise doubled his efforts and eventually launched the Gary Sinise Foundation.
Sinise shares that his children were still young at the time, and while he was able to support so many families and veterans through his work, he wasn’t around a lot.
“It was tough on them, but I think they’re proud of, you know, what I try to do. And they feel a part of it.” The Gary Sinise Foundation has raised over $500 million in support of veterans and military families.
For Sinise, his greatest role isn’t one he’s played on stage or on-screen but rather one he chooses every day: as a father, husband and servant to those in need.
Read Next: Gary Sinise Advocates for ‘Struggling’ Vets Who Served After 9/11
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