The legend who intimidated Tom Hanks: “Seeing his movies was a big time for me”
Many words have been used to describe Tom Hanks over the years, but “intimidating” hasn’t been one of them. That being said, his reputation has preceded him for a long time, with generations of young actors having grown up as fans and admirers of his career.
While it would be safe to assume Hanks has never left anyone feeling particularly intimidated, it wouldn’t be out of the question for an aspiring actor to be nervous or overawed in his presence. After all, he’s one of the modern era’s biggest and most popular names, with two Academy Awards and a back catalogue of stellar performances to his name.
Hanks was more than 30 years into his career before he encountered somebody he’d grown up idolising, and even though they were in the latter stages of their own career at the time, they hadn’t lost a shred of the presence, aura, or star power that had made them a legend in the first place.
In what proved to be his final major film role beyond a voice-only turn in Pixar’s animated favourite Cars, Hanks shared the screen with Paul Newman in the crime thriller Road to Perdition. Unsurprisingly, the latter was on stellar form as veteran crime boss John Rooney, earning himself an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ in Sam Mendes’ graphic novel adaptation.
Even though it earned in excess of $180million at the global box office, secured an enthusiastic reception from critics and audiences, and won an Oscar for ‘Best Cinematography’, Hanks maintains that Road to Perdition has never gotten the recognition it deserves for being one of his very best features.
He was a certified A-lister and had been for a long time before he’d stepped foot on set, but as Roger Ebert shared following Newman’s death in September 2008 at the age of 83, Hanks was “intimidated” being in the same frame as a Tinseltown icon and one of the best to ever do it.
“Oh, lordy! You can’t have a history of going to the movies and not be,” he said of Newman’s inherent intimidation factor. “Seeing his movies was a big time for me. So, to be there on the set with him? Number one: he’s much taller than you think he’s going to be. And number two: those eyes! The first take on the first day: I’m not thinking about my work. I’m thinking, ‘Holy cow! I’m in a movie looking into Paul Newman’s eyes. How did this happen?'”
As Hanks discovered on day one, Newman still had plenty of gas in the tank. His Oscar nod for Road to Perdition was followed by Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy wins for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ in 2005’s HBO miniseries Empire Falls, even if they ended up being the final two live-action performances of his lifetime before the legend passed away.
