Gary Sinise biography

Synopsis

Gary Sinise was born on March 17, 1955, in Blue Island, Illinois. He helped launch the Steppenwolf Theater Company at age 18. He started his career as a director, but his 1994 appearance in Forrest Gump as Lt. Dan made him famous and earned him an Oscar nomination. He worked with Tom Hanks again in Apollo 13. Later he starred the television biopicsTruman and George Wallace.

Profile

Actor, director, producer. Born March 17, 1955 in Blue Island, Illinois. The son of a film editor,Sinise attended Highland Park High School where an appearance in West Side Story eventually led to his cofounding of Chicago's acclaimed Steppenwolf Theater Company. The then 18-year-old Sinise, along with Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry, started the ambitious enterprise in a local church basement, launching the careers of such talents as John Malkovich and Laurie Metcalf.

Sinise began his film and television career in the director's chair on such series as Crime Story and thirtysomething and the feature film Miles From Home. In 1992, he directed, produced and starred in a remake of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

In 1994, Sinise became familiar to mainstream audiences as Lt. Dan in the blockbuster film Forrest Gump with Tom Hanks. His performance as the physically crippled and emotionally shattered veteran earned him an Oscar nomination. He re-teamed with Hanks for Apollo 13 in 1995 and starred in the television biopics Truman in 1995 (for which he won a Golden Globe) and George Wallace in 1997 (for which he won an Emmy). In 2000, he appeared in the drama Mission to Mars and the thriller Imposter. Sinise returned to the small screen in 2004 to star in the crime series CSI: New York.

Sinise is married to actress Moira Harris, who is an original member of Steppenwolf Theater. They have two daughters, Sophie and Ella, and a son, McCanna.