Most people are familiar with Gary Sinise, either for the work he has done on behalf of veterans or because he played Lieut. Dan in the movie, Forrest Gump. Regardless of how you know him, he is a familiar face.

Recently, Gary Sinise came forward to talk about the role that he played in Forrest Gump and how it shaped his life from that point forward. It is perhaps something that most people, even those who are familiar with him did not know.

He said: “I remember walking in to the hospitals for the first time, meeting service members who had been blown up, missing their legs, just like Lieutenant Dan. They just wanted to talk about the movie, and I realized, ‘Ok, now that’s a way that I can communicate with our service members. They want to talk about the positive story of Lieutenant Dan.’”

Gary Sinise has always been there to help veterans but when he played in Forrest Gump, it pushed him even further in that direction. This can be seen by what he did in 2011 when he founded the Gary Sinise Foundation, which has the goal of helping veterans and service members in different ways.

According to that organization’s mission statement: “While we can never do enough for our defenders and their loved ones, we can always do a little more.”

It’s amazing when you think that all of the work he has done has really been supported by the experience he had while playing in a beloved movie. We wish him many more years of doing what he does best.