Tom Hanks: the one actor Steven Spielberg is “always amazed by”
Given everything he’s achieved over the course of a storied career, it’s reasonable to assume that Steven Spielberg doesn’t find himself amazed all that often anymore. He has seen virtually everything there is to see and everything there is to do in the industry.
This is a guy who changed the face of cinema forever with his breakthrough feature Jaws, has won three Academy Awards from 23 nominations, is the only person to have directed the highest-grossing movie in history on three separate occasions through Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park. Spielberg is the one and only director to have ever seen their filmography accrue upwards of $10 billion in ticket sales.
That’s without mentioning the raft of classics he’s directed dating back decades, so if anything, the word ‘legend’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. And yet, his most noted regular collaborator in front of the camera has had an effect on Spielberg as both a friend and fan that can’t be matched by anybody else.
Little did the world know when he headlined the 1986 comedy hit The Money Pit that Tom Hanks would find himself a lifelong companion and close friend, with Spielberg serving as executive producer on the movie. That was the first time they’d ever worked together on the same production, but it would be far from the last.
They’ve since gone on to reunite on wartime great Saving Private Ryan, light and breezy crime caper Catch Me If You Can, ripped from the headlines dramedy The Terminal, Cold War espionage story Bridge of Spies, and political thriller The Post. In addition, they co-created the seminal miniseries Band of Brothers and executive produced both of its spiritual successors, The Pacific and Masters of the Air. That’s exactly why it would be an understatement to say they’re very familiar with each other.
There isn’t a performer to have appeared in as many Spielberg movies as Hanks, and yet the iconic director still finds new ways to be blown away by his talent. On one occasion, he praised the two-time Oscar winner’s ability to disappear into every role he plays by explaining how “everything that Tom does is a surprise to me because I don’t recognise him”.
Even though he knows him as a person, Spielberg can’t see that when they’re on set, and he’s “always amazed by that” transformation, which he described as “remarkable”. Far from being a one-time thing, either, “It’s been in every experience I’ve had with Tom because each character he plays is totally different.” While that’s part of the job for any actor with designs on longevity, Hanks is doing something special to leave somebody of Spielberg’s standing so mesmerised.
When pressed by Flavour to underline what makes Hanks so great, Spielberg revealed that “the first thing I noticed about Tom is that I never caught him acting”. Stars can be showy, overly performative, and exaggerated at times, but “he said the lines as if there was no script, there was no director, no lights, and he was just talking to me.” When one of the all-time greats speaks that highly, it’s about the highest badge of honour that can possibly be worn.
