Gary Sinise is opening up about his decision to step away from Hollywood. The Forrest Gump star, 69, revealed in an interview with Fox News that his choice to take a break from acting in 2019 came as both his wife and his son were fighting cancer.
The CSI: NY star’s son, McCanna Anthony “Mac” Sinise, died in January at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with a rare spinal cancer known as Chordoma, and his wife, Moira Harris, was diagnosed around the same time with breast cancer.
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“We were in the cancer fight during that time,” Sinise told the outlet. “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.”
“And the cancer fight for Mac was especially difficult because he was… fighting this cancer with no cure,” Sinise continued of his son’s diagnosis. “And trying to find drugs and doctors, and trying to find anybody who could do anything for him was like a full-time job.” The actor added, “Plus he became more and more disabled by the cancer as time went on and he needed more and more care.”
While Harris, 70, eventually went into remission and was declared cancer-free, Gary said it was “difficult” for the two of them to watch their son fight his own cancer “until he finally just couldn’t fight it anymore.”
At the time of Mac’s death, the Gary Sinise Foundation shared a message from the late musician’s family. “Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can. As parents, it is so difficult losing a child,” the statement read at the time. “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.”
Sinise’s most recent credits are from 2020, with the actor playing Dr. Robert Ellman in 13 Reasons Why and Sheriff Westin in Joe Bell.
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