Gary Sinise Recalls Late Son’s Faith: ‘Big Part of His Life’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Actor, producer and veterans advocate Gary Sinise recently spoke about his late son Mac’s legacy and how his faith helped him through his difficult battle with cancer.
Mac died on Jan. 5 of this year at the age of 33 due to a rare cancer called chordoma. Sinise shared how, shortly before he was diagnosed with cancer, Mac found comfort in his faith.
“It was Bishop Robert Baron who confirmed Mac into the [Catholic] Church in 2017,” Sinise said. “This was probably 14 months before he was diagnosed with cancer. The Church and his faith…became such a big part of his life,”
Mac was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and learned that it had spread a few months later. An old friend of Mac’s, Oliver Schnee, wanted to reconnect but didn’t know about the devastating diagnosis.
“I drove to his house, [and] my heart broke when I saw Mac. Nothing could have really prepared me for just how heavy it was, especially knowing that he was a drummer and now being paralyzed he couldn’t even play his instrument as a form of catharsis,” Schnee said. “That really hit hard. But what I did notice was that his attitude and his spirit was still incredibly upbeat. It was very admirable and inspiring to witness.”
As his health declined, Mac and Schnee decided to collaborate and revisit an old piece of music that Mac had left unfinished.
“It was this wild mixture of his body failing, but mentally, creatively, [and] spiritually he’s still going, and there’s still a lot of music inside him that wants to come out and that needs to come out,” Schnee shared.
Sinise said, “Mac wanted to keep living in spite of the damage that was being done to him by the disease and every moment that he had that he was feeling good he was taking advantage of it. Those days in the studio you can see he was alive in the studio. When you see those videos and he was enjoying those moments, his faith really sustained him a lot.”
Mac and Schnee’s project eventually evolved into an album called “Resurrection & Revival.”
“The week the album went to press, Mac lost his battle with cancer,” Sinise wrote. “He died on January 5, 2024 at 3:25pm, and was laid to rest on January 23rd. Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can…I am so blessed, fortunate, and proud to be his dad.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Mac’s album:
Actor and veterans advocate Gary Sinise recently announced that the album created by his son Mac, who died earlier this year, will ship soon.
“Exciting news, Mac’s album, Resurrection & Revival, is almost ready for shipping,” Sinise wrote on Instagram. “I got to see it in person yesterday, being pressed and packaged, handled with such care, it was all so emotional. I’m so proud of Mac. I know how much this means to him. To all who have purchased an album, thank you.”
In the video, the actor sees the physical album for the first time. He couldn’t contain the smile and emotions that came as he saw his son’s dream come to life.
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4000+ Faith Based Articles and Movie Reviews – Will you Support Us?
Our small team works tirelessly to provide resources to protect families from harmful media, reviewing 415 movies/shows and writing 3,626 uplifting articles this year. We believe that the gospel can transform entertainment. That’s why we emphasize positive and faith-filled articles and entertainment news, and release hundreds of Christian movie reviews to the public, for free. No paywalls, just trusted, biblically sound content to bless you and your family. Online, Movieguide is the closest thing to a biblical entertainment expert at your fingertips. As a reader-funded operation, we welcome any and all contributions – so if you can, please give something. It won’t take more than 52 seconds (we timed it for you). Thank you.
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