Tom Sizemore, the tough-guy actor who has continued to work in entertainment despite multiple careers' worth of ugly behavior spanning decades, was booted from a film set in 2003 after an 11-year-old actress alleged that he molested her, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The now-55-year-old actor, infamous for domestic battery convictions, on-set outbursts and a nearly lifelong battle with drugs, remained one of Hollywood's busiest character actors until Monday, when THR, citing multiple named sources who were present, published one of the most disturbing accounts of sexual misconduct since Harvey Weinstein.
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The incident, never before publicized, was reported to producers and police, though the girl's parents ultimately declined to press charges. The woman, now 26, whom THR did not name at her request, said she's exploring legal action against the actor and possibly her parents. A rep for Sizemore, who denied any wrongdoing at the time, told THRthat "Our position is 'No comment.'"
THRdescribes a cast and crew – including producers – who were sickened and aghast at what was being alleged as word spread around the set of the Lionsgate film Born Killers, which never got a significant theatrical release.
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Sizemore played a small role as the girl's father, and was shooting a family portrait that was to be used as a plot device in the film. According to THR, the girl was seated on his lap when he molested her. A co-star noticed the girl's reaction but only put together what happened after she heard of the allegations, and photos taken during the shoot were inconclusive.
However, the next day the girl told her mother, who communicated concerns to producers through the girl's agent. Producers encouraged the parents to speak with police. They also talked to Sizemore and initially sent him away, but brought him back for reshoots months later after no charges were pressed and no further evidence surfaced.
The cast and crew, however, were still furious.
"There was never any doubt," Roi Maufas, who worked as a production assistant, told THR. "He was this guy who was already known for making inappropriate comments, being drunk, being high. We're talking about consistent behavior, just being 'Tom Sizemore' on set every day. Then this happens. [A producer] had to stop a group of us from going to visit Mr. Sizemore to kick the guy's ass."
Sizemore has said for years that his drug problems, including a 2007 arrest for methamphetamine possession, began as a teenager. Domestic abuse charges include a conviction for beating then-wife Heidi Fleiss in 2003 and a February no-contest plea for assaulting his girlfriend last year.