Hollywood star Gary Sinise knows being a conservative in Tinseltown isn’t easy, but acknowledged that he’s had a great career despite being outspoken about his political beliefs.
During Friday’s episode of CNN’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?,” the host asked the 67-year-old actor about his decision to start the conservative group, Friends of Abe, for right-leaning Hollywood figures in 2004 and not just sticking to acting, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
Sinise, who is best known for his role as Lt. Dan, the wounded veteran in the hit movie “Forrest Gump,” said the group started “during the early days of the Iraq War,” because he and his friends wanted to make sure soldiers never suffered for their service like Vietnam veterans did.
“I think so much was motivated by … what happened to our Vietnam veterans and the lack of support that they got and the way they were treated, and then we regretted it later on,” Sinise said.
“I didn’t want our Iraq War and Afghanistan veterans to fall prey to any of that kind of stuff,” he added. “I just wanted to get in there and support them. So, I started looking for people that were just in the same camp as me on that subject. And I found other folks in the movie and television business who enjoyed getting together.”
When asked if he thought his Hollywood career could’ve been bigger if he had just focused on acting, Sinise said he’s had a “blessed career” and that he “can’t complain,” the New York Post reported.
Actor Gary Sinise opens up about how the role of Lt. Dan in “Forrest Gump” had an impact on his career. pic.twitter.com/V7E6mMe6pF
— CNN (@CNN) January 30, 2023
“I’ve had a blessed career in the movie and television and theater business,” Sinise shared. “I’ve done amazing things, I’ve worked with amazing people, and it really played a major role, if not the key element, in what I’m doing today on the service side.”
The star said he got to a point in his career where he could “pick and choose” roles that were “very specifically” based on the issues that matter to him, like “giving back and trying to serve our veteran community and our first responder community.”
In 2011, the “CSI:NY” star took his role as Lt. Dan one step further and founded the Gary Sinise Foundation, which offers a variety of programs and services for wounded veterans of all military branches.