Tom Hanks may seem like the type of person who rarely loses his cool, but that’s not the case, according to the man himself.
The Forrest Gump star is making the rounds to promote his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, which tells the story of a self-absorbed actor who pulls all kinds of stunts on set.
And the inspiration comes from personal experience, said Tom, who has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the nicest people in Hollywood.
“I have pulled every single one of those moments of behavior myself on a set,” the Oscar-winning actor confessed in an interview with BBC published on Monday.
“Not everybody is at their best every single day on a motion picture set,” he said. “I’ve had tough days trying to be a professional when my life has been falling apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving — and it’s the last way I feel.”
While some antics can slide, Tom said there are a few things that “cannot occur on a motion picture.”
“Someone cannot monkey around with the timing or the length of the shoot or the budget,” he said. “That is a cardinal sin in the motion picture business.”
Despite this, the actor said audiences would be “amazed” at “how many people know that they can get away with it, and are told they can get away with it, because they are carrying the movie on their shoulders.”
The new novel, published by Penguin Random House, is Tom’s first attempt at fiction. He published a collection of short stories, Uncommon Type, in 2017.
The BBC noted that some reviews of the new book are lukewarm. Tom said he can “handle” the critiques because of his “day job as a movie star.”