The Forest Gump star, Tom Hanks is counted amongst the most illustrious actors of all time. Playing multiple award-winning roles much to the delight of his viewers, Hanks has contributed massively to the industry with his unparalleled talent. Although he is regarded as a revered actor, acting isn’t the only way he has contributed to the glitzy world of the film industry.
Tom Hanks acted, directed, and co-wrote the 1966 movie That Thing You Do! Thanks to his invaluable experience on the set of his directorial debut, the star underwent a change of perception, that significantly impacted him as an actor.
Tom Hanks’s Directorial Debut Changed Him
When Tom Hanks decided to enter the world of directing, he knew it wouldn’t be easy and was sure that his first movie wouldn’t have been made if he’d not been a celebrated actor. But, the thing he wasn’t expecting was the experience leaving him with certain valuable changes in his perception, that seriously impacted himself as an actor.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be quite the same actor again. I always thought I was a pretty good boy with directors but I had come in late, and grumpy, a couple of times. I know now what that poor guy is going through.”
Feeling quite sympathetic for directors in general as well as regretting his past behavior, Hank realized directing is not as easy as it might seem. Directing along with starring in the movie took a serious toll on him physically, and the painstaking hours he spent ended up spoiling his mood.
“For this job, I started at 4 a.m. every day and didn’t get home until 11:45 at night. I wasn’t ready for the physical grind of it.”
The actor has always been one of the most nicest and grounded actors despite his enormous wealth and success, but that one experience led him to change himself for the better.
Tom Hanks Was Disappointed By His First Directorial Movie
The Oscar-winning actor tried his hand at directing with That Thing You Do! But was soon left disappointed when the movie failed to make its mark. The $34M went on to become a VHS and DVD success but failed to do much on the big screens. Despite acknowledging that movie won’t be much of a success, Hanks still felt disappointed.
“Everybody wants their movie to cause fistfights and riots and make history. I knew it wasn’t going to do that, but I was disappointed. You don’t want a movie to do OK and peter out, which is what it did. We had a three-star movie but we didn’t do three-star business.”
That Thing You Do! went on to gross over 25 million domestically and earned $8.7 million worldwide. Well, not everyone can be perfect at everything they do and looks like even the maestro Tom Hanks is no exception to this.
You can rent That Thing You Do! on Google Play.
Source: CheatSheet
