Gary Sinise Reveals What Drove Him Out of California - and Deeper Into His Life's Work

Gary Sinise, award-winning actor and founder, president, and chairman of the Gary Sinise Foundation, has always been a personal hero of mine. Most people famously know him for his role as Lieutenant Dan in the movie "Forrest Gump," but I knew of Sinise long before that. As a Chicagoan (born and raised) who was involved in the arts, I first discovered Sinise as an actor. Sinise is one of the founding members of the Steppenwolf Theater, and I had the opportunity to enjoy Sinise's stage work in their theater productions. John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" is one of my favorite books, and Sinise's stage and television adaptation of the book has always been, in my mind, one of the best.

It was through the power and influence of his role as Lt. Dan that the Gary Sinise Foundation was born. Sinise started the foundation in 2011, and rightly calls it his life’s work. The foundation's mission is to "honor and support our nation's veterans, first responders, wounded heroes, families of the fallen, and those enduring invisible wounds."

It was an honor to spend time with our nation’s heroes at Walter Reed this week during a Serving Heroes event. Taking a moment to share a meal, a conversation, and some gratitude is a small way to say thank you for all they have sacrificed in service to our country.

I’m always… pic.twitter.com/F0TynlctBe
— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) May 23, 2026

It was an honor to spend time with our nation’s heroes at Walter Reed this week during a Serving Heroes event. Taking a moment to share a meal, a conversation, and some gratitude is a small way to say thank you for all they have sacrificed in service to our country.
I’m always inspired when I visit and humbled by the strength, resilience, and spirit of those recovering. I'm grateful for the opportunity to spend time with them and their families.

In 2019, Sinise laid down his entertainment industry career to focus on being an advocate for his son McCanna "Mac," who was battling Chordoma, a rare form of cancer that originates in the spine. This time away from acting also allowed Sinise to expand the work of the Gary Sinise Foundation.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the Golden Globe Award-winning actor — whose Gary Sinise Foundation gifted an injured U.S. Army veteran a car in partnership with Wells Fargo during America's Ball for The Mall event earlier this month — opened up about his decision to leave California during an unimaginable time in his life.
"When I stepped away from acting in 2019… I had made some money. I had some investments going," said Sinise, whose son, Mac, had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2018 and died in 2024. "Mac fought for the next four or five years, and I was his battle buddy and just fighting with him. And my wife had a lot of challenges and everything. My dad had had a stroke and died in 2021. My mom was aging and falling apart. I mean, they needed me and that was important."

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When I was a Yoga instructor in Los Angeles, I had an opportunity to meet Mac, as well as Sinise's daughters, Sophia and Ella. They are and were gracious and delightful young people, and I was able to let them know how much I loved their father and his work onstage and off. Sinise's commitment to his family and those who sacrifice for our nation was deepened as he chose to step away from not just his acting career, but also from the state of California.

Because it was a decision that my husband and I also made around the same time period, Sinise's reasons for doing so dovetailed with ours.

"I started to think, 'Well, what happens if I don't go back to work? Do I want to spend all the money here in California paying these big prices for gas and property taxes and all the different things?' The house we had was a house that was very good for our family because it was big enough... We could provide shelter for a lot of the family members that may have been struggling at the time, but we weren't in need of that anymore," he continued.
Sinise — who is famous for his role as Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump" — said he and his family weighed their options and ultimately made the decision to pack up and move to Nashville, Tenn., a place he had familiarized himself with over the years.
"I really started zeroing in on the lifestyle here," the 71-year-old actor said. "There's a gas station where I was getting gas for $2.59 a gallon. And then I visited California, you know, and they're up at like, you know, $5.79 a gallon. So they're a full $3 more a gallon for gas in California. I don't understand it."

Thanks to the success of Sinise's career and wise investments, he still had the means to maintain a life in California, but Sinise smartly chose not to. His remarks embody the failure of the progressive governance in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, other elected apparatchiks, and their elite class partners punish and penalize hardworking citizens and businesses, while using our tax money to incentivize and maintain the welfare state. Their goal is to build a dependent class that will always keep them in power, instead of empowering the citizens who are the ones who enrich the state.

In no small part due to California's adversarial laws and the terrible decisions enabled by the state and federal government, our family had already suffered great loss and been stripped bare. So, we departed the state with the clothes on our backs and very few possessions. Sinise had the good fortune to be able to move his resources and his foundation out of California before that could happen to him.

"They've got a lot of resources in California and I just don't know what they're doing," he continued. "I like the gas prices [here]. I like the no tax state. I like saving a bit more money. If I was still in California and not working, that money would be moving a lot faster out the door than it is right now. So I wanted to save money and prepare for the future. I don't want to give it all to California and property taxes. I'd rather give it to my kids later on."

Like our family, Sinise said he has no regrets.

"I stepped away from acting in 2019 to focus on the family. And, you know, I'll say it to anybody. You'll never regret doing that," he said.
"You might pass up some good opportunities along the way, but if you pass up the opportunities to help your family through a difficult time, you're missing something," he continued. "And I was fortunate. I had good years in the movie business and in the television business. And maybe in some ways, that was God just giving me something because we were going to be facing some very, very difficult things. I was being prepared in more ways than one."

It is that preparation that no doubt allows Sinise and his foundation to embrace and come alongside our service members and veterans, first responders, and their families, in a myriad of ways and over the long haul.

"Once folks come into our program at the Gary Sinise Foundation, they're just, they're part of our family," said Sinise. "And if they need ongoing support, we want to be there for them."
"When I started my foundation 15 years ago now, it was with the hope that I could build something that would be lasting and be around for a long time, helping a lot of people out. So we don't just bring somebody into the program, do one thing for them, and then we never see them again. They're kind of part of the fabric of the Gary Sinise Foundation, and we want to be there in times of need."

Today is our nations Memorial Day. Enjoy your day and take a moment to remember the true meaning of this day. A day to pay our respects to all those who have given their lives in our country's defense. God bless these brave heroes and their families. pic.twitter.com/i3d6VlYF9d
— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) May 25, 2026

Alongside the Gary Sinise Foundation, Sinise performs with his Lt. Dan Band and works to keep his son Mac's musical legacy alive.

On top of his foundation work, Sinise — who hosted the National Memorial Day Concert in front of the Capitol on Sunday — is focused on continuing to spread his son's legacy by sharing his music.
"We took all these musical ideas that he was kind of tracking and laying down, and we went to work on it and brought this music to life for him," Sinise said of his son's third posthumous album, "Resurrection and Revival: Part 3." "It's emotional because I miss him so much."

All the proceeds from the sale of Mac's music are poured back into the Gary Sinise Foundation, which was Mac's wish.

Through the Gary Sinise Foundation, as well as Sinise's life and career, he embodies the sacrifices made by those who gave their lives to secure our liberties. As Sinise so beautifully put it in his memoir, "Grateful American: A Journey From Self to Service":

For those who have sacrificed for me, for those who have inspired me, for those who have supported me in the many endeavors over the years, I hope to continue to make the most of that support, that inspiration, and that sacrifice for as long as I live. I want to lead a good life, not just for myself, but also for my fellow man. A life of service, to try to make the world a better place. America has given me this opportunity, and for that, I will always be grateful.

This Memorial Day, we should all seek to embody Sinise's wisdom and spirit of gratitude and giving.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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