Some Unsung Truths About Tom Hanks!
Rumors echo that the era of “Hollywood star” is over. In a media landscape that is dominated by small and big franchises, actors remain relevant as per their character’s popularity. While the current stardom state in Hollywood is an endless debate, there remains a generation of actors who received fame in the heyday of the superstardom.
The Tom Hanks Era
Tom Hanks is perhaps one of those actors who showed up in the 1980s and ruled an era of superstardom. After leading some well-received comedy roles, he shifted towards playing the dramatic ones. As a result, he even won two consecutive Academy Awards and situated himself as a serious actor in the industry.
Ever since the beginning of the 2000s, Tom Hanks changed his game and started playing the old statesmen roles in films like Sully and Catch Me If You Can. Thanks to his affability and filmography, Hanks managed to make an impact all over the 21st century’s pop cinema culture. With that being said, here are some unsung truths about the man behind Cast Away, Forrest Gump, and Toy Story.
He Has A Special Formula For Choosing Scripts
It is quite difficult to point what exactly it takes for an actor to become a “successful star” and lead his way towards massive stardom. While for some actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, it is cinematic greatness, for others like Johnny Depp, it is accidental stardom. On the other hand, actors like Tom Hanks try to select scripts that are based on the “3 E’s” – Education, Enlighten, and Entertainment.
Apparently, it is not possible every time to tick all the E’s in one single film. In this regard, Hanks once mentioned that scripts that land at a place where it is called more than a “well-made film” are the kind of cinema that he wants to go with.
He Underwent Body Transformation After ‘Cast Away’
Tom Hanks went through a dramatic transformation during and after Cast Away. To achieve a weather-hardened scavenger, he put on some extra pounds to depict Chuck’s early stay on the island. After that part, Hanks needed to lose 50 pounds within a year to film the movie’s second half. In an interview, Tom Hanks revealed that in such an extreme working condition, he went through a lot to get back in shape but the film’s commercial and critical acclaim helped to get out of the painful memories.
Hanks’ Accent In ‘Forrest Gump’ Was His Young Counterpart
More than any other movie in Hanks’ entire career, Forrest Gump (1994) was the one that fans and the audience loved the most. Tom Hanks played the titular character in the film and got fully committed to preparing for the role. But apart from every other thing in the movie, it was Gump’s childhood persona that felt most authentic to the audience.
The younger Gump was played by Michael Conner Humphreys. As a result, it was pretty much essential for Hanks and Humphreys to sound the same. That is why Hanks decided to learn the 8-year-old actor’s accent instead of making Humphreys copy his accent.
