Playing Lt. Dan in 'Forrest Gump' Changed Gary Sinise's Destiny

Gary Sinise has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for his on screen performances. He has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was nominated for an Academy Award.Sinise has also received numerous awards and honors for his extensive humanitarian work and involvement with charitable organizations. He is a supporter of various veterans' organizations and founded the Lt. Dan Band, which plays at military bases around the world, and the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Sinise's acting career started on stage with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1983 when he directed and starred in a production of Sam Shepard's True West for which he earned an Obie Award. He would later earn four Tony Award nominations including for his performances in The Grapes of Wrath and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He earned the Tony Award's Regional Theatre Award alongside the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Sinise first starred in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic novel Of Mice and Men which he also directed and produced. Sinise played George Milton alongside John Malkovich who played Lennie. Subsequent roles include Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump (1994) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in films such as Ron Howard's Apollo 13 (1995), Ransom (1996), Frank Darabont's The Green Mile (1999) and Impostor (2002).

He is also known for his television performances as Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995), for which he won a Golden Globe, and the title role in the television film George Wallace, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award. He later had leading roles as Detective Mac Taylor in the CBS series CSI: NY (2004–13); from 2016 to 2017, Sinise starred as Special Agent Jack Garrett in Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

Interview recorded on May 29, 2023

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Video Credits:
Interviewer - Greg Corombos
Editor - TJ Cooney
Director of Photography - Jon Hambacker