Tom Hanks' illustrious career spans nearly 30 years, but of that time, the actor believes he only made four "pretty good" films.
The Academy Award-winner made the confession to People while discussing his upcoming novel, "The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece," which is a fictional story about the making of a multimillion dollar superhero film.
"No one knows how a movie is made — though everyone thinks they do," Hanks said. "I’ve made a ton of movies (and four of them are pretty good, I think) and I’m still amazed at how films come together. From a flicker of an idea to the flickering image onscreen, the whole process is a miracle."
Hanks added, "Movie-making is very hard work over a very long period of time that consists of so many moments of joy slapped up against an equal number of feelings of self-loathing. It is the greatest job in the world and the most confounding of labors that I know of."
Hanks' career is defined by starring roles in dozens of hit films ranging from "Forrest Gump" to "Elvis." He also delivered a memorable performance as a gay lawyer battling AIDS in the 1993 film "Philadelphia." The actor may have won an Oscar for the role but, in an interview with The New York Times Magazine earlier this year, he said it was not necessarily suited for a straight man anymore.
"Could a straight man do what I did in 'Philadelphia' now? No, and rightly so," he said. "The whole point of 'Philadelphia' was don't be afraid. One of the reasons people weren't afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man."
Hanks added, "We're beyond that now."
"I don't think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy," he continued. "It's not a crime, it's not boohoo, that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie in the modern realm of authenticity. Do I sound like I'm preaching? I don't mean to."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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