Award-winning 90s star explains sad reason he stepped away from Hollywood

Gary Sinise has explained why he made the difficult decision to step away from his Hollywood career.

The actor, director, producer and musician, 69, has won Emmys, Golden Globes, a Tony and Screen Actor Guild Awards throughout his career, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

His career started on stage in the 80s, going on to star as George Milton in the 1992 film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men.

Gary also appeared in the films Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Ransom, The Green Mile and Imposter, as well as TV shows including CSI: NY and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

His last screen roles were four years ago, with the actor now speaking how he decided to put his career on pause in 2019.

With both his wife, Moira Harris, and one of his children, son McCanna, facing cancer diagnosis’, in 2021 Gary moved from Los Angeles to Nashville to care for them.

‘We were in the cancer fight during that time,’ he told Fox News.

‘My wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer. My son was diagnosed with this very rare cancer within two months of each other.

‘My dad had just had a stroke, and my mom was alone, and I had to take care of her. I kind of had my hands full.’

While Moira has since gone into remission and is now cancer-free, their son died aged 33 in January this year after being diagnosed in 2018.

 ‘Our son was fighting this cancer with no cure,’ Gary said.

‘Trying to find drugs and doctors or anybody that could do anything for him was like a full-time job.’

Gary’s last screen roles were as Dr. Robert Ellman on the Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why and Sheriff Westin in the movie Joe Bell.

The actor said he ‘had to stop’ as travelling away from his family for long periods of time ‘wasn’t possible with what we were going through’.

On January 5 Gary announced his son’s death, writing the family was ‘heartbroken and have been managing as best we can’.

‘As parents, it is so difficult losing a child. My heart goes out to all who have suffered a similar loss, and to anyone who has lost a loved one. We’ve all experienced it in some way,’ he shared.

Gary went on to write about his son’s cancer fight lasting nearly six years and how it became ‘more and more challenging as time went on’.

He added that while their ‘hearts ache at missing him’ they were comforted knowing he was ‘no longer struggling’.

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