Despite having the “nice guy” reputation in Hollywood, Tom Hanks is the first to admit that he can sometimes be difficult on set.
In a recent interview with BBC, Hanks discussed his newest debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, which was released on Tuesday. The fictional story follows a full cast and crew who are shooting a big superhero film with an over-the-top director and a self-indulged lead actor who causes nothing but chaos on set.
Surprisingly, Hanks wrote this lead character’s tendencies from personal experience.
“I have pulled every single one of those moments of behavior myself on a set,” he confessed in the interview. “Not everybody is at their best every single day on a motion picture set.”
Understandably, it can be tough for actors to have to constantly juggle back and forth between being their characters and their true selves, especially on days where their true self isn’t feeling as happy-go-lucky as their character is supposed to be.
“I’ve had tough days trying to be a professional when my life has been falling apart in more ways than one,” he continued, “and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving – and it’s the last way I feel.”
Although the beloved Forrest Gump star admits to being sometimes difficult, he knows when to draw the line and not commit the one “cardinal sin” of Hollywood: being late.
“What cannot occur on a motion picture is that someone cannot monkey around with the timing or the length of the shoot or the budget,” he explained. “That is a cardinal sin in the motion picture business.”
“You will be amazed at how many people know that they can get away with it, and are told they can get away with it, because they are carrying the movie on their shoulders,” he added.
Those same people, presumably, have their role in Hanks’ newest novel in which he describes them as “cry-babies [and] psychological train wrecks” who partake in “more than a couple of feuds between the Talent.”
Regardless, although the book has so far gotten less than stellar reviews, Hanks is the least bit fazed and finds inspiration and creativity through writing.
“Sometimes you just have to have some other reason to spark your imagination,” he said, noting that having long stretches of filming roles can sometimes mean you “just run out of curiosity for the job.”
However the book may be received by audiences, he stands his ground on the belief that his novel will “live and die based on its own ability to entertain and enlighten an audience.”
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65404525
