■ ACTOR TOM SIZEMORE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO DRIVE A CAR THAT RAN OVER A STUNTMAN
Stuntman suffered fractures and tissue damage after being run over by actor Tom Sizemore on the “Shooter” set Sizemore was not supposed to drive the vehicle; stuntman claims actor was intoxicated
One minute, veteran stuntman Steve de Castro was playing dead during filming of the television series Shooter at a remote location north of Los Angeles. The next minute, de Castro was run over and dragged by a sport utility vehicle (SUV) driven by actor Tom Sizemore.
It was no stunt. And it wasn’t the only thing not in the script that day. Sizemore wasn’t supposed to move the vehicle during filming of the scene, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
The accident left de Castro with fractures in his wrist and forearm, bone and tissue damage and 100 stitches in his forehead. The stuntman was pinned by the SUV and had to be airlifted from the rural airport where Shooter was filming on July 6 of last year.
The files obtained include interviews with several people on the set who said Sizemore attended a safety briefing and rehearsals, where he was instructed to get behind the wheel of the SUV in a shootout scene but not move it.
Although the SUV was not supposed to be moved, it was left running to allow the air conditioner to work during the filming at a high-desert airport in the Agua Dulce area.
Details about the accident were included in an investigation file compiled by the workplace safety agency Cal/OSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Administration). The agency issued no citations over the accident after determining it didn’t have jurisdiction because the stuntman was an independent contractor, not a studio employee.
Little information on the mishap or de Castro’s injuries was revealed after the incident or in subsequent months, in part because the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department did not open an investigation, saying at the time that it would be handled by occupational safety inspectors. Also, publicity-conscious studios rarely comment when workers are hurt on productions.
In October, de Castro sued both Sizemore and Paramount Pictures, which is producing the USA Network series. His lawsuit contends Sizemore was intoxicated during filming, but there was no mention of the actor being impaired in the Cal/ OSHA file.
A Paramount investigative report provided to Cal/OSHA stated that Sizemore and co-star Omar Epps were supposed to run to the vehicle in the shootout scene, but not drive away. The scene was rehearsed several times before filming.
“When, after rehearsals, the scenes were filmed for live action, Mr. Sizemore improvised at the end of the scene and drove away in his car,” the report stated. “Mr. Sizemore’s decision to drive was not in the script, and not expected to occur.”
Shooter represented a potential comeback for Sizemore. The actor’s reputation in Hollywood has been ravaged by drug abuse and domestic violence arrests after a career that included prominent roles in Saving Private
Ryan and Black Hawk Down. A few days after the Shooter accident, Sizemore was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. He pleaded no contest to domestic battery charges and remains on three years of informal probation.
De Castro has worked as a stuntman for about 12 years and his credits include two Captain
America films and other Marvel movies. On Shooter, he was playing “Russian Guard #3,” who was gunned down during a shootout at a small airport.
Shooter has been renewed for a second season, but Sizemore’s character did not survive the first round.