Tom Hanks is known for his particular brand of common men who are in extraordinary situations. The actor has won two Oscars for his performances in the films Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, which he won consecutively. He has also been nominated numerous times in the Best Actor and Supporting Actor categories.
However, one of his most celebrated performances, which almost killed him did not receive any love from the Academy. During an interview, Oprah Winfrey was surprised by Hanks’ snub for Cast Away. However, the legendary actor was reportedly not shocked as he knew how the Academy functioned.
Tom Hanks Talks About Cast Away Snub At The Oscars
Tom Hanks is one of the most beloved personalities in Hollywood. His penchant for playing ordinary men who win coupled with his dad-like personality off-screen has made him a darling to the masses. He has won numerous accolades and has been considered to be one of the greatest actors of the generation.
However, despite winning two Oscars and being nominated for numerous other works, one of his best performances remains snubbed. The actor played the role of Charles, a Fed-Ex employee who gets stranded on a beach and has to survive in the film Cast Away. The actor’s performance has often been regarded as one of his greatest.
Despite the legendary performance, the actor did not win the award, which reportedly came as a huge shocker for prominent media personality Oprah Winfrey. When she expressed her disbelief in an interview with Hanks, the Forrest Gump star remained unfazed. He said,
I know how the Academy Awards works: It’s a card game, and I’m in the toss-up category.
The actor opened up more about his acting process in the interview and also mentioned that he liked the work he was doing and he would stop once it stopped being so fun.
Tom Hanks Almost Died While Filming Cast Away
Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis, the legendary duo behind Hanks’ Oscar-winning performance in Forrest Gump came back together to collaborate on the survival drama Cast Away. Hanks played the role of a lone survivor of a plane crash on an uninhabited island, who attempts to go back home.
While filming, Hanks reportedly got a cut which caused an infection that put him in the hospital. The actor revealed to BBC Radio 1 (via Digital Spy) that he did not expect the cut to be that serious but production on the film had to be shut down for three weeks while he was healing. He said,
[Cast Away] put me in the hospital. I was there for three days with something that, believe it or not, almost killed me. I got an infection from a cut and it was eating its way through my leg. I didn’t know it, I just thought I had a sore…I went to the doctor who took one look and said, ‘I have to put you in the hospital because we have to get this infection out of you before it poisons your blood and you die’. We had to shut down for three weeks while my skin reformed.
Despite his commitment to the role which almost killed him, Hanks lost to Russell Crowe’s powerful performance in Gladiator.
Cast Away is streaming on Hulu.
