Tom Hanks’ short-lived experiment in method acting: “I was told in no unqualified terms to knock it off”
When several of the greatest actors in cinema history have been staunch proponents of the method for the duration of their careers, it’s impossible to say it doesn’t work. However, it’s an approach that isn’t for everyone, as Tom Hanks discovered after he tried living with a character when the cameras weren’t rolling.
The debate over the pros and cons of immersing oneself so deeply into a role that it consumes one’s life has been raging ever since Marlon Brando first burst onto the scene in the 1950s and completely revolutionised the face of screen acting forever, but there’s a reason why he’s been placed on a higher pedestal than most – if not all – of the pretenders to his throne.
For every Robert De Niro who comes along and reiterates to critics and audiences that going method has the potential to yield some of the greatest performances ever captured on film, there’s a Jared Leto lurking just around the corner who comes under regular fire for using it as something that exists between a crutch and a self-indulgent gimmick that’s only utilised for the benefit of one.
Two-time Academy Award winner Hanks hasn’t felt the need to dive so deeply into his preparations that he begins to lose his sense of self, which might have something to do with the fact he was told to stop it when he gave it a shot. He’s clearly capable of doing incredible work without the method, but a personal passion project convinced him that maybe it was worth a shot to go the extra mile.
As a lifelong enthusiast of space exploration, Hanks was already well aware of Jim Lovell’s book Lost Moon long before he played the astronaut in Apollo 13. The star had already voiced his interest in making a biographical drama based on the incident, so when he discovered that a screenplay was being circulated with Ron Howard attached to direct, he ensured that it made its way onto his desk.
He didn’t need any convincing to play the part, but it was at his family’s urging that he abandoned his short-lived dabble in the method. “Doing Apollo 13, I got to walk around in really cool spaceman uniforms, you know, with patches on them and stuff like that,” Hanks replied after being asked by NPR if there was any role where the character became part of his identity when he was off-set.
“I could swagger a little bit,” he continued, describing his desire to nail Lovell’s mannerisms and persona. “And I think I probably came home and was acting like Jim Lovell a little bit too often. I was told in no unqualified terms to knock it off.” Just like that, bringing his work home with him was outlawed in the Hanks household, and he never felt the need to go method again.
