Tom Hanks Interviewed on The Treatment

When we, as the audience, reminisce about the magnificent films that were produced, we subconsciously recall the great actors and actresses since they are an integral part of what makes a film memorable. On June 9^th, 2002, film critic Elvis Mitchell interviewed the wildly popular actor and filmmaker Tom Hanks on KCRW’s radio show, The Treatment. Hanks’ notable films include: Forrest Gump (1994), Big (1998), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Philadelphia (1993), Cast Away (2000), Apollo 13 (1995), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Captain Phillips (2013), and Saving Mr. Banks (2013). His voice work in notable animated films includes The Polar Express (2004) and the Toy Story series. Hanks has also directed various films with director Steven Spielberg and helped produce various amounts of films. All of Hanks’ accomplishments were recognized when Hanks received the Lifetime Contributions to American Culture through the Performing Arts medallion in 2014.

During the interview with Tom Hanks, I got the impression that he is very comedic actor despite his powerful performances in Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Cast Away (2000). He is not shy of telling jokes and has a great sense of humor apparent in the interview. Furthermore, Tom Hanks also hosted the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live several times before the interview. Something interesting I learned about Tom Hanks was that his first time on stage was about third or fourth grade where he had to read a page long essay about The Star-Spangled Banner. It is also interesting to note that Tom Hanks compares being on stage to filming on a movie to have the same fear and anxiety about performing. I learned from this interview that there is a certain type of genre specifically for each era. Hanks describe the movies of the 80s where about guys who were afraid of girls, tried to impress girls, and pretended they were rich. I learned it is somewhat a confidence booster when Hanks chooses to play these roles in film, but it may not always seem as interesting to Hanks when he portrays repetitive roles. Furthermore, I learned Hanks needs time to “recharge” creatively between consecutive films since doing back-to-back films can be mentally and physically draining.

When Tom Hanks talks about starting to work a new film, he compares the first three days on set as a voyage. Hanks states, “You are going on this great voyage whether you like it or not. If it’s heading in one direction with a whole kind of way of philosophy of what the creative air is like on sound stage, you can’t change it; you can’t get in there and turn it around.” I believe Hanks provides a great analogy to the newly developed films because as Hanks said earlier, “You do not know if any of it will work; if any of it is just stupid.” I agree with Hanks because it seems like actors and actresses must have a difficult time deciding whether the film they are participating in will be successful or not. As Hanks points out, it is similar to a voyage that will not stop until the film is complete. The director will see it in their own way while actors are required to trust the creativity of the film. It is a great analogy relative to the film industry because there some instance where the director’s and actor’s creative style clash. Hanks is depicting that as an actor, one must have confidence with the film because there is no backing down once the journey begins.

There is always fine line between whether an actor or actress does a film for the money or because they believe in the creativity of the film. Tom Hanks states, “For the longest time I thought you’ll be insane to turn down a movie. You don’t realize for a while that you’re giving up an awful lot of trading stamps, you’re going to the well perhaps more often than you should go to the creativity well, but I didn’t know that and you’ll figure that out later down the line.” Even actor Tom Hanks thought that it would be insane to decline an opportunity at a movie because the film could possibly an actor’s “big break.” However, as Hanks implies, when you accept any and every movie role, you do not grasp the entire creative essence of the film. In my opinion, films take a lot of time and effort which is the reason why actors and actresses need to be focused. I agree with Hanks because if one is making 2 to 3 movies a year, it will be extremely exhausting to maintain the same creative level with all of the films. I believe Hanks understands that one cannot creatively immerse into a film if one is solely concentrated on completing the film as soon as possible.

A lot of actors and actresses have different opinions on how to act and what differentiates the “good” actors and actresses from the “great” actors and actresses. In regards to finding confidence on set, Tom Hanks believes, “If there is any one rule of acting on screen it would be less is more; you don’t have to sell a lot of it.” Tom Hanks indicates that the more dramatic the acting, the more the audience can distinguish that the performance is fake. Hanks also states, “Even though you wanted to be funny, and even though you wanted to be fascinating, and even though you wanted to be dramatic, and even though you wanted to be powerful, if you specifically go for those things it’s never going to work.” I agree with Hanks that the over dramatized acting is somewhat idiotic in the twenty-first century because great actors can convey emotion without doing much work. Some actors try extremely hard to convey the character in a certain way which does not make the acting any better. For example, in the 1903 film The Great Train Robbery, the acting is extremely dramatic, especially when someone is shot. If an actor acts overly dramatic today, it would be because of their personality or they were satirizing the old films of the past. Hanks’ acting suggestion depicts of the changing style of acting within the film industry.

In my opinion, Tom Hanks has a great grasp of acting on screen and of the film industry in general. I now understand that if I ever want to go into the film industry, I would need to be able to trust all the cast and crew. I believe Hanks’ interview gave the audience a lot of insight to confidence in an on-screen actor. I also believe that “less is more” is extremely viable and valuable advice to any actor or actress. After listening to the interview, I felt that Tom Hanks is a very gifted actor and he has never worked a day in his life because he loves film. Tom Hanks has provided the film world with a variety of films that contribute to the American culture. Hanks is known as the character that painted a face on a volleyball and named it Wilson. He is recognized as the voice of Woody from the Toy Story series. He also is affiliated with the catchphrase, “Run. Forrest. Run.”  Besides catchphrases and references, Hanks provides the film world with powerful and emotional performances. Hanks is truly a great actor and I am glad to be alive while he still contributes to the world of film.