The one role Tom Hanks called “the hardest physical work I’ve ever done”
Tom Hanks has never been anything but a consummate professional throughout his career. Despite his reputation as the endearing dad of Hollywood, Hanks’ greatest strength as an actor comes from his versatility, playing roles as varied as the stranded delivery man in Cast Away to his latest turn as the cranky old man in A Man Called Otto. When it comes to the most difficult roles of all time, Hanks thought that his most challenging role was more family-friendly.
Before he had even made a turn to the big screen, though, Hanks was already making his name as one of the biggest names in television. Making a name for himself in Bosom Buddies and a role in the show Family Ties as Michael J. Fox’s raging alcoholic uncle, it wasn’t long until Hollywood came calling for Hanks’s brand of earnest acting.
Carrying movies like Big, Hanks’ resumé tended to stay close to the family-friendly side of the spectrum, being a lovable movie about a kid who transforms into an adult one fateful day. Though Hanks was more than happy starring in wholesome roles, it wasn’t long until the more severe fare started to turn up.
Throughout his turns in Saving Private Ryan and Philadelphia, Hanks’ reputation as a lighthearted actor was thrown out the window. Shifting towards concepts like war and graphic drama, Hanks was seen as an actor who could wear both stylistic hats in equal moderation.
Now, with many iconic films under his belt, the mid-1990s saw Hanks delve into children’s entertainment yet again. Working for Disney, Hanks’s role as the famed cowboy Woody in Toy Story would become the first success story for Pixar, featuring a touching story about Woody learning the benefits of having an imagination alongside Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear.
While the days on the set of enormous blockbuster movies may have been strenuous, Hanks counts this performance among his most challenging, telling Graham Bensinger, “As an actor, I will say that the hardest physical work I’ve ever done as an actor has been the recording of those movies.”
Despite the massive amount of work that goes into getting the right physicality into a performance, Hanks thought it was a more significant challenge doing his work in the vocal booth, explaining, “You have no costume to hide in. You have no motion in order to animate the emotion, and you don’t get to do that. You have to stay locked in place, on microphone, and only use your imagination and your voice in order to go there. And I think I’ve probably recorded half of all the Toy Story movies with my eyes closed.”
Regardless of the strain that must have gone into the recording, Hanks delivered one of his most wholesome performances, crafting a role that would become endearing for millions of children worldwide. Hanks would eventually reprise his role four times during his career, each having more nuance than the last. Although most actors might try to stretch the operatic side of their range, it takes an auteur like Hanks to bring the same dignity to children’s entertainment.
