Where this was said
Tom Hanks on Being an Everyman: Parents, High School Drama, and the Fire in the Belly
At 1:02:23 · chapter starts 1:00:30
Jason builds toward a question about Tom's groundedness and thanks his parents for it — only for Tom to note, flatly and with dry timing, that his parents divorced when he was five. The room deflates comically. Will asks instead what Tom's parents thought of him pursuing acting: both were supportive, seeing it as 'look what Tommy found.' Tom then turns it back on Sean, referencing Promises Promises on Broadway, where Sean played piano onstage and did eight shows a week for a year. Tom says Sean said to him what Laurence Olivier said late in his career when asked if he'd return to the stage: 'I'm not sure I have the fire in the belly.' Olivier's version referred to the 'stronger heart' required — not medically, but emotionally. Both Tom and Sean agree the commitment is total and demanding in a way that film simply is not.
Sean Hayes performed in Promises Promises on Broadway for approximately one year, a grueling commitment of eight shows per week.
