Tom Hanks is the latest among the Hollywood crowd to join the debate surrounding nepotism. The recent comments come after the actor’s latest film, A Man Called Otto brought his son, Truman Hanks to the forefront by adding him to the cast to play Hank Sr.’s younger version. The 27-year-old has barely scratched the surface of the industry’s potential in the years leading up to his current role in the classic adaptation. Mostly involved in behind-the-scenes productions, Truman Hanks has inadvertently made headway as an exemplary beacon in the nepotism debate.
Tom Hanks Shares His Opinion on Raging Nepotism Debate
The legendary Hollywood icon, Tom Hanks has struck again, but this time, it was the adaptation of the New York Times best-seller, A Man Called Ove written by the Swedish author, Fredrik Backman. This is not the first time the novel has been adapted into a film, but the Hollywood production, although finding a very specific target audience via its soft launch, has suddenly gained center stage in the debate that has taken up the primary focus in the industry and its outskirts.
The actor in a video interview with Reuters claimed:
“Look this is a family business. This is what we’ve been doing forever. It’s what all of our kids grew up in. If we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just inventory at the end of the year.”
Truman Hanks has only appeared in one other Hollywood production, News of the World. The 2020 American Western drama also featured Tom Hanks in the leading role. Apart from the two projects, the junior Hanks has worked in the digital department as a lighting assistant in big-budget productions like Marvel’s Black Widow, Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man, and Steven Spielberg’s musical, West Side Story.
Hollywood Partisans Turns Up the Heat on Nepo Babies
One of the aspects that have overhauled the nepotism debate into the public sphere from every nook and cranny of the film and television industry. Among the numerous partisans who have publicly commented and contributed to the ongoing rage have been Jamie Lee Curtis, Kate Hudson, and Lily Allen. Hanks’s comments have only served to further establish one of Hollywood’s royalties in the focal center.
Hanks further states:
“The thing that doesn’t change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not. That’s the issue anytime any of us go off and try to tell a fresh story or create something that has a beginning and a middle and an end. Doesn’t matter what our last names are. We have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience.”
The recent film, A Man Called Otto, centers around Tom Hanks’s grumpy widower Otto whose life is suddenly turned around when a boisterous family moves in next door and Otto strikes up an unlikely friendship with the pregnant Marisol. The film currently holds a rating of 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Source: Reuters
