Tom Hanks names his favourite movie soundtrack
Tom Hanks has long been one of the most endearing men in Hollywood. Through the profound essence of his most famous characters and by consistently being an agreeable force, the Forrest Gump star has managed to keep himself relevant in a constantly changing media landscape.
One aspect of Hanks’ life that has made him particularly resonate with fans is his taste in music. Over the years, he has conveyed that he has a fine ear for compelling sounds and has effused about many artists, ranging from Talking Heads to LL Cool J. When appearing on the BBC’s flagship programme, Desert Island Discs, in 2016, he outlined the high quality of his record collection.
One of the most emotive episodes in the programme’s recent history, Hanks’ candid accounts of his favourite songs were enough to make even the most unrelenting cynic embark down a path of weighty introspection. The most notable instance of this arrived when the actor picked his favourite movie soundtrack as one of the collections he would take to the imaginary desert island.
The Big star was moved to tears when discussing the pivotal moment of his life that occurred while watching the title sequence to Stanely Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Famously, this part of the film is backed by the initial fanfare of Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra. This experience proved monumental for Hanks, providing solace amidst an unsettled childhood.
Hanks told the host, Kirsty Young: “This was the ‘wow’ moment of my life going from a kid trying to figure out what’s interesting in this life to young man yearning to be an artist.”
“I started asking myself: ‘How do I find the vocabulary for what’s rattling around in my head?’ Not long after I started going to the American Conservatory theatre by myself to see plays I had no idea even existed.” When asked what those feelings were, Hanks was then moved to tears. “What have you done to me?” he comedically proclaimed towards an apologetic Young.
“No, it’s all right, because I put too much thought into this list. What it was, it was the vocabulary of loneliness,” he replied after composing himself, providing one of the most enlightening insights into the Hollywood icon Tom Hanks. Instances like these have kept Desert Island Discs at the forefront of the collective imagination for so long.
Watch the scene below.
