Gary Sinise says his money would be ‘moving a lot faster out the door’ if he still lived in California

After decades in Hollywood, Gary Sinise chose to say goodbye.

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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"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."

"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."

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While Sinise said he'd be open to returning to acting if the right project came along, he doesn't regret stepping back.

"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."

Looking back on his career, Sinise said he "never imagined" his legacy would be as much about service as it is about acting.

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"I poured everything I had into [acting]. And then, you know, having been involved with veterans, going back to the ‘80s and ’90s and everything, when our country was attacked on September 11, 2001, I just felt like that was a calling to a greater action."

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Sinise kickstarted his foundation in 2011, and has never been more dedicated to the cause.

"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."

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"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."

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, like with the first two records, will go to the Gary Sinise Foundation, as Mac wanted to support the mission of helping our military and our first responders and their families," Sinise added.