While Cast Away might be a practically perfect movie according to most people’s standards, there is one scene that its lead star Tom Hanks still can’t watch. The 2000 survival drama from Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis earned Hanks a Golden Globe for Best Actor as well as an Oscar nod, but it seems he isn’t fully convinced with his own performance.
During an appearance on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast with Marina Hyde and Richard Osman, Hanks, who’s now in cinemas as the voice of Woody in Toy Story 5, replied to a fan question about making mistakes on the job.
“There are movies that have moments in it that I cannot watch because I didn’t get there. And sometimes these are the big moments. I simply did not get there,” Hanks began.
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The Oscar winner then brought up an emotional scene in Cast Away, in which he plays Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems analyst who learns to survive on a desert island after his plane crashes.
He explained of the emotional reunion between Chuck and his girlfriend, played by Helen Hunt: “I’ll tell you. There is a moment […] it was painful for me in Cast Away in which I am back and Chuck is back in Kelly’s house and he gives her her watch back. And there’s a moment where I just think I’m not there.
“All of it is a turnaround on me, but I do this gesture that I just think is false and is me and is not Chuck.”
“If the movie is on, I will get up and leave the room before that scene comes on,” he added.
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Asked if he realised he wasn’t fully in the moment when acting that scene, Hanks replied: “No, I did not. No, it wasn’t until I actually saw it when it went down. And I think that, oh, we were just moving on there. And I wasn’t there.”
Meanwhile, Toy Story 5 – confirmed as the longest film in the series – sees Woody (Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the gang come up against modern technology, as they compete with tablet Lilypad (Greta Lee) for eight-year-old Bonnie’s attention.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).