Tom Hanks is one of the most well-recognized actors in the world, known for his work in Forrest Gump, The Terminal, Saving Private Ryan, and Sleepless in Seattle. He has also been nominated for an Acadamy Award several times and won twice for Best Actor credited to his work in Forrest Gump and Philadelphia.
Being one of the best and most talented actors in Hollywood to this date, the actor has certainly played his fair share of iconic roles. One such role was his work as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks, which was one he almost did not do.
Tom Hanks Did Not Want To Be In Saving Mr. Banks
During an interview, Tom Hanks revealed that he was not all too keen on taking up the role of Walt Disney in the 2013 movie, Saving Mr. Banks. The actor elaborated on why he felt this way initially, stating that he did not want the responsibility that came with playing such a historically important individual. He also mentioned a conversation he had with his long-time co-worker and friend, Tony To, who was also the head of physical production at Disney.
“The burden, you know. Honestly, the responsibility. I heard about it first from Tony. I think he’s head of physical production at Disney. But he and I executive produced and worked and created From The Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, The Pacific. We had done a lot of stuff. So he was over there. We have lunch every now and again. He says, ‘You’ve got to play Walt Disney in this movie we have.’ And I said, ‘Geez, who needs that pressure,’” Hanks said in the interview.
Hanks revealed that he was informed about the movie by To, who suggested to him that he should definitely play the role of Disney in this film. The Forrest Gump actor, however, declined, stating that he did not want the pressure that came with playing a character like this. Hanks’s decision did not change until received a phone call from a very important person at Disney.
Tom Hanks Was Convinced By The CEO Of Disney To Be In Saving Mr. Banks
Tom Hanks revealed that the reason why he agreed to do Saving Mr. Banks was because of a phone call he received from the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger. The actor revealed that Iger told him that this situation was quite unusual and rare but Hanks was perfect for the role of Walt Disney, so Iger decided to call him personally
“Then Bob Iger called me which, you know, he even said, ‘Look, this is not usually the way this works. I call you and say well, will you do it?’ And I said, ‘Well, I haven’t read the screenplay,’” Hanks remembered.
After some conversation, Hanks finally agreed to read the script of the movie, as he had not done so previously, and agreed to be part of the project. He added that he loved the script as it showed Walt Disney in a light he had never seen before and wanted to portray that on screen.
Source: CheatSheet
