Tom Hanks tells Chris Evans about his son Truman's first acting role in A Man Called Otto: 'He went in and had the most intense scene'

Virgin Radio

23 Dec 2022, 08:53

Iconic actor Tom Hanks spoke to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky to talk about his upcoming movie, A Man Called Otto, which also stars his son, Truman Hanks.

The movie lands in cinemas Friday 6th January, and sees Hanks play a grumpy man called Otto who has lost his purpose in life following the loss of his wife. Truman Hanks plays a younger version of Otto in the film, and Tom told Chris: “If you were to take photographs of the both of us, we look exactly the same, more or less, at the age of 26. Which means he’s going to look like this in another 40 years, good or bad!”

However, despite their aesthetic similarities, it wasn’t an obvious choice to cast Truman in the movie, as he hadn’t previously been an actor by trade. “Anybody who is going to take that job on is going to have a tough thing,” Tom said. “They’ve got to hit the marks, and they’ve got to tell the truth, and not everybody has the wherewithal, or the desire, to do that.”

The Captain Phillips actor explained that A Man Called Otto director Mark Forster spoke to Tom about his son taking on the role of a younger version of his character. “Mark said, you know, before we go off and have to do all this casting for the young Otto, can I maybe talk to Truman about doing this. And we said, ‘Well, I don’t know if Truman wants to be an actor. I mean, he’s been exposed to it. He actually wants to be a cinematographer and he’s been carrying around a camera all this time.’ 

“So, I said, ‘This is going to be his decision, so we’re not in this at all.’ And his very first day [filming] was the day where he goes out on a date with Rachel [Keller, who plays] the young Sonya. 

And when I found out that that was going to be his first day of shooting any movie, I said, ‘Welcome to the show, my friend. Welcome to the big leagues. That’s what is asked of you sometimes.’”

Explaining why the schedule on Truman’s first day of filming was so daunting, Tom told Chris: “Everything is on the table in that scene. A lot of times, the first day on a movie is, ‘Get out of a car and do it in an interesting fashion’. Or, ‘Sweep this walk in a way that is so glamorous’. No, he went in and had the most intense scene as his character in that part of the movie, on day one. There you go pal!”

Alongside Tom, Truman and Rachel, the film stars Mariana Treviño, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Cameron Britton and Mike Birbiglia. It was shot in Pittsburgh, and the Toy Story legend spoke highly of the location. “I ran into the singer Richard Hawley, and he says that Sheffield is the most beautiful city in the world. That’s the way Pittsburghers feel about Pittsburgh,” he said. 

“There is no reason to leave Pittsburgh. It’s got beautiful topography, it’s got the three rivers, it’s got vibrant neighbourhoods, absolutely everywhere. I’ve worked there twice. One is A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood… and here is another movie about a Pittsburgh neighbourhood. It’s about a street, and neighbours that go on, and the good and the bad that goes on.”

During their chat, Chris and Tom also chatted about their morning routines:

With Christmas just around the corner, Chris asked Tom what his festive plans were. The actor replied: “We are suffering this year because, number one, all of our grandkids are busy. Everybody’s essentially jammed at this time of year. No fault of their own, as are we. 

“We’ll be home on the 18th, that is seven days before Christmas. Actually, only six, because Christmas Eve day is devoured by all the preparations for getting together. So, we’re really only going to have five days to gear up towards Christmas, and that’s going to be a rush.”

A Man Called Otto is in cinemas Friday 6th January.

For more great interviews listen to  The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or  catch up on-demand here.