Gary Sinise Reflects on Life Beyond Hollywood, Honoring Late Son Through Music

Gary Sinise attends the premiere Of Lionsgate's "I Still Believe" at ArcLight Hollywood on March 7, 2020, in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Like many other Hollywood celebrities, actor Gary Sinise made the conscious decision to leave the spotlight for a life elsewhere.

Sinise and his loved ones relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2021, although his choice was deeply rooted in his family’s personal battle with cancer.

Speaking to Fox News Digital on Nov. 14, the 69-year-old said he had a number of reasons to leave Los Angeles but noted it was primarily to focus on the health of his son, Mac, and wife, Moira.

“We were in the cancer fight during that time,” he said.

Best known for his role as Lt. Dan in “Forrest Gump,” and his portrayal of Detective Mac Taylor on the television series “CSI: NY,” Sinise initially put his acting career on the back burner in 2019 due to the constant travel that kept him away from his family.

“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.”

In 2018, Mac was diagnosed with chordoma, a rare type of bone cancer that forms in the bones of the skull base and spine.

According to the Chordoma Foundation, only 1 in 1 million people are diagnosed every year.

“Our son was fighting this cancer with no cure. Trying to find drugs and doctors or anybody that could do anything for him was like a full-time job. Plus, he became more and more disabled by the cancer as time went on. … He needed more and more care,” Sinise said.

His wife had since entered remission, but Mac tragically passed away in January of this year at the age of 33.

The slower pace of Nashville gave his family a chance to escape the high pressures of Hollywood while also providing a peaceful atmosphere that resonated with Mac’s passion for music.

Prior to Mac’s death, Sinise discovered a composition of music that his son had either written or recorded and released his vinyl dubbed “Resurrection & Revival” earlier this year, as a tribute to him, in conjunction with the “Gary Sinise Foundation.”

“This has been a real labor of very deep love. Because a lot of this music, I was not even aware that he had it until I discovered it on … his files,” he said.

Gary Sinise Foundation

Through the Gary Sinise Foundation, which his son “loved so much,” Sinise works to support the nation’s defenders, veterans, first responders, and their loved ones while simultaneously “upholding the importance of keeping our country strong.”

“At the Gary Sinise Foundation, we serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need,” reads the website. “We do this by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.”

The actor is again honoring his late son’s memory by releasing his posthumous album “Resurrection & Revival: Part 2,” with all proceeds from both parts supporting the foundation.

“I will say this about Mac and the album that he made last year … he had achieved something that he set out to do, which was to record all this music in May and make a full album of it … that gave me a lot of joy … just watching him kind of enjoy those moments,” he said.

Sinise, a musician himself, is at peace knowing his son was “happy at the end of his life” and that the two could share a love for composition, songwriting, and performing with the actor’s band, “The Lt. Dan Band.”

Pre-orders of “Resurrection & Revival: Part 2 ” began shipping on Nov. 10, and Mac’s other compositions are available on his YouTube channel.