Tom Hanks does not believe that his portrayal of a gay lawyer battling AIDS in the 1993 film "Philadelphia" would go over well today.
The actor may have won an Oscar for his performance but, in an interview with The New York Times Magazine, he said that the role 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."
It was Hank's performance in "Philadelphia" that earned him his first Oscar for best actor. During his acceptance speech, Hanks said his work in the film "is magnified by the fact that the streets of heaven are too crowded with angels," according to USA Today.
"We know their names," he continued. "They number a thousand for each one of the red ribbons that we wear here tonight. They finally rest in the warm embrace of the gracious creator of us all — a healing embrace that cools their fevers, that clears their skin and allows their eyes to see the simple, self-evident, common-sense truth that is made manifest by the benevolent creator of us all and was written down on paper by wise men, tolerant men, in the city of Philadelphia 200 years ago."
During his interview with the Times, Hanks described "Forrest Gump," which earned him his second Oscar for best actor, and "Philadelphia" as "timely movies," adding, "at the time, that you might not be able to make now." He also defended "Forrest Gump," saying that it deserved the Best Picture Oscar over other popular films that had earned the award.
"The problem with 'Forrest Gump' is it made a billion dollars," he said. "If we'd just made a successful movie, Bob [Zemeckis] and I would have been geniuses. But because we made a wildly successful movie, we were diabolical geniuses. Is it a bad problem to have? No, but there's books of the greatest movies of all time, and 'Forrest Gump' doesn't appear because, Oh, it's this sappy nostalgia fest."
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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