Tom Sizemore on the defensive

It's a nightmare, he says, he wouldn't wish on anyone. Actor Tom Sizemore has come a long way since he was on Hollywood's A-list, working with directors like Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott. His chronic drug problems, repeated run-ins with the law, and bizarre public meltdowns have derailed, for now, a once-promising career. He spoke out in his first primetime interview since a judge sentenced him to jail for violating his probation. It's an interview he almost didn't finish.

In every man's life, there comes a time when he must face reality; even if his business is fantasy, even if he plays the tough guy. Here was Tom Sizemore, squirming under a tabloid spotlight, coming to Dateline to explain himself.

Tom Sizemore: “I don't want to be in the business of ruining my life. I've done enough damage.”

Keith Morrison: “Basically you're just a guy with a drug problem right?

Sizemore: “I'm clean and sober right now. I'm in treatment. Right now. This very day.

Morrison: “How many days do you have?”

Sizemore: “Sober? Eighteen.”

Morrison: “What's your longest period of time without.”

Sizemore: “Doing any drugs at all? From '95 to 2001. It’s not a coincidence they're the most prolific years, and my career was building.”

Building? Exploding actually. Sizemore made millions playing hardscrabble tough guys in blockbusters like “Blackhawk Down,” “Heat” with Robert DeNiro and “Saving Private Ryan” with Tom Hanks.

Sizemore: “I'm a nice middle class kid from Detroit who likes sports, who loves to read and was happy doing what I was doing, playing second fiddle to Tom Hanks. It was terrific.”

He was so close, on the cusp of superstardom, with paydays of $10 to 15 million, even starring as a cop in his own TV series, “Robbery Homicide Division.” And then it all went bad.

Sizemore: I made egregious mistakes in the choices I made. And for that, your honor, I am sorry.

He was in L.A. Superior Court, begging a judge not to send him to prison:

Sizemore: I never thought I'd break my father's heart. Or my mom's. Or mine. But I have. And I'm to blame for that, what I did was wrong.

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