Tom Hanks is without question one of the greatest actors of all time. He's an institution unto himself, beloved all the world over for his heartwrenching and powerful on-screen performances.
After several decades of filmmaking and multiple Academy Awards, you'd think Tom would be comfortable enough with himself to sit back and enjoy his canon of work. But as he revealed in a recent interview — nothing could be further from the truth.
First off, it's not what you think. Tom, much like his contemporary, Johnny Depp, hates watching himself on the big screen.
"I wrestle with authenticity," Tom explained via Yahoo. "I wrestle with the difference between lying for a living as an actor and lying to myself as a human being."
The experience always ends badly and imbues the Oscar-winning actor with a sense of regret.
"I see the loss. I see that one time, 'Oh man, I missed that opportunity,'" he said.
The actor describes how the feeling of knowing that he could've pushed himself further in a scene haunts him.
"Was it because I was satisfied with what I had?" he asks rhetorically. "Was it because I wasn't up enough on the text? Was it because I didn't have enough of those ideas in my pocket?"
There are many things that Tom can deal with as an actor. but in order for him to perform to the best of his ability, he has to believe he's capable of doing it.
Tom fondly recalls lengthy brain trust sessions with director Robert Zemeckis, designed to help Hanks and the director better understand the makeup of the film.
"You must know the text because the text is the interpretation of the theme," Tom explained. "And the theme is why you're all there in the first place."
