The conversation with Tom Hanks that devastated Charlize Theron: “He’s got such a way with words”
The 1990s truly belonged to Tom Hanks, who dominated Hollywood with countless box-office hits and his charming everyman sensibility. Typically playing heroic or lovable characters, the actor appeared in many popular slices of American cinema, from Forrest Gump and Toy Story to Saving Private Ryan and The Green Mile, becoming a household name.
Hanks is one of the most beloved figures in Hollywood, and it’s his friendly persona that has allowed people to connect with him so strongly; for many, simply hearing the sound of his recognisable voice is a nostalgic comfort. What’s more, actors whom he has worked with have often found themselves susceptible to his charms – even when he’s had to let them down.
Charlize Theron received one of her first acting roles in Hanks’ That Thing You Do!, his directorial debut, in 1996. Just a year before, she’d made her debut as an actor in the direct-to-video movie Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, which came after she was spotted in a bank by a talent agent who witnessed her arguing with one of the staff members. Theron was struggling to make it in Los Angeles, having had no choice but to give up on being a professional dancer following a knee injury, so this surely felt like a life-changing moment.
After a few small roles, she landed her part in That Thing You Do! as Tina, the former girlfriend of the main character, Guy, played by Tom Everett Scott. However, she soon got contacted by Hanks and found herself a little disappointed. “I got a call from Tom Hanks, who directed That Thing You Do!, when he was done cutting that film. I was like, ‘Oh, my god. Tom Hanks is calling me. This is amazing!’ And then, of course, he was calling me to tell me that I was barely in the movie,” she revealed to Interview Magazine.
Theron continued: “But I’ll never forget it—and this is why he’s Tom Hanks, because he’s got such a way with words. He was like, ‘Charlize, I have some good news and I have some bad news. The bad news is that I have to cut some of your scenes. The good news is you are like Marilyn Monroe in All About Eve.’ I was like ‘What?’ But that was my first real experience of understanding how narrative is sometimes more important than character, which I think is a good lesson to learn.”
The actor knew that Hanks had enough experience in the industry to make the right choice, so while her part ended up being quite small, Hanks managed to reassure her that it was the best thing for her. Following That Thing You Do!, Theron soon appeared in bigger roles in movies like The Devil’s Advocate alongside Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, and The Cider House Rules with Michael Caine, becoming an established star in her own right.
She has since become one of the biggest actors of her generation, and she credits Hanks for allowing her to understand the process of being an actor. Theron continued, “Actors can be very precious about their work and their scenes, but I think good actors have a strong understanding of narrative and are very often not as precious about that stuff. They just can’t be because they understand what makes for a better film, and that it’s the job of the actor to work toward that, and then if you want you can go to acting class or workshops. But making movies is not workshops.”
