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Tom Hanks is the ultimate ‘good guy’ of Hollywood. The two-time Oscar winner has made a career out of playing morally decent leading men who do the right thing during a stressful situation. He has worked with acclaimed filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Robert Zemeckis, and Baz Luhrmann.
Hanks received one of his numerous Oscar nominations for the role of Captain John Miller in Spielberg’s WWII dramaSaving Private Ryan. The film followed a group of US soldiers tasked with retrieving a private whose brothers have been killed in action. When Hanks was offered the role, the actor was reportedly surprised by the filmmaker’s choice.
Tom Hanks Was Surprised Steven Spielberg Offered Him The Role Of Captain John Miller
Tom HanksandSteven Spielberghave collaborated multiple times – not just as an actor-director duo but also as producers. They have produced the WWII docu-seriesBand of Brothers, the miniseriesThe Pacific,and the recentMasters of the Air. They have worked together on films such asThe Terminal, Catch Me If you may,andThe Post,among others.
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Their first collaboration came with the WWII dramaSaving Private Ryan. The film was a favorite at the Oscars that year, winning Spielberg his second Oscar for Best Director and being nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, and more. Hanks played the role of Captain John H. Miller, the soldier who is tasked with retrieving Private James Ryan.
Captain Miller is shown as a soldier suffering from PTSD, who feels a sense of purpose for the first time while also missing his life back home. The character sacrifices a lot to make the mission a success and is responsible for his crew who are treading a dangerous terrain for a non-essential task. When Spielberg offered him the role Hanks had this to say (viaOprah),
I still have moments when I think, ‘They want me to play this role? They want me to be Captain John Miller [in Saving Private Ryan]?’ Never in my wildest scenarios would I have thought I would be able to have enough of somebody’s confidence to do such a thing.
He mentioned that the character’s fear was what made it relatable to him and how the fear drives all actions and moral dilemmas in the film.
Tom Hanks Believes Everyone Goes To The Movies To Understand Moral Dilemma
Tom Hanks has made a career out of playing the everyman stuck in an extraordinary situation, trying to do the decent thing. Whether the role is being stuck on a remote island with little to no resources like inCast Away, or being a pilot who had to land his plane on the Hudson to save his passengers from a crash inSully, he always chooses to be good.
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When asked if he looks particularly for such roles where he is in the moral center of things, he mentioned that people in general go to the movies to be involved in a moral dilemma,
The reason most of us go to the movies is to be involved in someone else’s moral dilemma. Whether that dilemma is communicated the way Scorsese did it in Taxi Driver, which is one of the most amazing films I’ve ever seen, or the way Kirk Douglas did it in Spartacus, you know there’s something happening on the screen that is bigger than the lives we lead but that is still recognizable to a 14-year-old in Oakland.
The actor also revealed how he is still blown away when someone offers him a role that puts him in such a space where he is directly involved in someone else’s moral dilemma.
Saving Private Ryanis available to stream on Apple TV.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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