Gary Sinise Snuck A Midnight Cowboy Homage Into His Forrest Gump Performance

Who could forget Gary Sinise's turn as Lieutenant Dan in Robert Zemeckis' Oscar-winning 1994 dramedy "Forrest Gump?" It's the only performance for which the "Apollo 13" actor has ever received an Oscar nomination (sadly), as well as one that undeniably wrote itself into cinema history forever. Playing a soldier and then a physically-disabled war veteran is never an easy task, yet Sinise manages to balance the character's masculinity, bubbling rage, and quiet grace, giving the film some of its most poignant and touching moments.

What you might not know about his performance, however, is that Sinise actually came up with the moment that paid homage to John Schlesinger's 1969 Oscar-winning drama "Midnight Cowboy," which starred Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. In an oral history of Zemeckis' movie published by Garden & Gun in 2024, Sinise recalled exactly when and how he thought of the reference, revealing that Zemeckis expanded it along the way:

"Bob [Zemeckis] and I were talking, and I was thinking about the scene where Lieutenant Dan crosses the street in New York in his wheelchair. I started laughing when I came up with the idea of him having a taxi almost hit him and then banging on the hood of the taxi and saying, 'Hey, I'm walkin' here!' just as Dustin Hoffman's character had done in 'Midnight Cowboy.' Bob liked the idea and took it even further. During the scene, he played the Harry Nilsson song 'Everybody's Talkin,' which was in 'Midnight Cowboy.'"

During the scene in question, Lt. Dan and his old pal Forrest (Tom Hanks) — having only just reunited — are trying to cross a busy New York street overrun by yellow cabs. When one of the taxis almost hits him and his wheelchair, a drunk and agitated Dan yells at the driver, "Hey, hey, hey! Are you blind? I'm walkin' here!" (all while banging on the hood of the car with his free hand). This amusing bit doubles as a nice little reference to the scene in "Midnight Cowboy" where Hoffman's Ratso similarly tells a taxi driver to go to hell while talking to Voight's character as they cross a road in NYC. Of course, this is just one of the dozens of historical and pop culture references that "Forrest Gump" implements into its story (which was inspired by three real-life men), though most of its nods to real-life events and people take dramatic liberties as part of the film's fictional narrative.

Still, Sinise's creative contribution and portrayal of Lt. Dan stand out in several ways. Most notably, the actor received numerous letters and phone calls of support from real Vietnam War veterans after the movie was released, and he was even invited to appear at a national convention held by the Disabled American Veterans Organization, which he accepted. He once recalled the event on the "Jake's Takes" podcast, explaining, "I walked out on stage and there were 2,000 wounded veterans, going back all the way to World War II, and they were applauding me for playing Lt. Dan." He added, "That galvanized my support for our wounded way back then, and I saw the power of what playing that character actually did for people."