The band Tom Hanks “fantasised” about being asked to join: “The beat defines the sound”
There aren’t many things that Tom Hanks can’t do in front of the camera, and he’s proven himself more than capable in a couple of positions behind it, but he’s never been heralded for his musical talents.
As an actor, he’s a two-time Academy Award winner and one of modern Hollywood’s biggest and most popular stars, and even when the movies he’s in aren’t very good, which has become alarmingly frequent in recent years, he’ll never be accused of phoning in a performance.
When he’s not busy being ‘America’s Dad’, he’s been known to dabble in screenwriting, directing, producing, narrating documentaries, and furthering his passion as a history buff, with World War II and space exploration his two most likely subjects if he ever appeared on Mastermind.
Apart from the iconic scene where he performs ‘Chopsticks’ with his feet in Big, though, is there even such a thing as a Tom Hanks musical moment on the big screen? He’s never been in a musical, he can’t really sing very well, he’s not a great dancer, and while he’s learned the piano and violin for various roles, he’s not what anyone would call proficient or professional-class.
With that in mind, the actor dreaming of being plucked from obscurity to join one of the most famous bands on the planet seems fanciful at best, but it was merely a childhood fantasy that would never be fulfilled. What band did he think would come knocking when they desperately needed a replacement? You can probably guess.
“I know the same seven and a half chords on the guitar that we all do,” he joked to Sandi Davis. “Who hasn’t picked up a tennis racket and stood in front of a mirror while the music is going on?” That might lead you to believe he wanted to be an axeman, but in reality, his wish was to wield the sticks.
“When I was a kid, I fantasised I was such a good drummer that Ringo would leave The Beatles,” he explained. “That John, Paul, and George would hear about this fabulous drummer kid who was eight years old, and would want me to join them on tour. I always thought guitars were fine in a rock and roll band, but it’s the beat that defines the band’s sound.”
He would sort of manifest those dreams when he made his directorial debut on That Thing You Do!, which followed an aspiring drummer played by Tom Everett Scott, who looked suspiciously like a young Tom Hanks, something that wasn’t lost on the first-time filmmaker.
“The resemblance between us at the same age was so startling, I said, ‘I can’t cast this guy, this is ridiculous,'” he admitted, asking him if he was “sick of hearing how much you look like me?” Fortunately, he wasn’t, and in the end, his role was basically to realise Hanks’ boyhood dream of joining The Beatles.
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