Tom Hanks on Toy Story, Sequels and The Scene He Regrets

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The Terror of the Set: Tom Hanks on Acting Fear

At 22:30 · chapter starts 21:15

Listener Patrick Farrell asks what still genuinely surprises or challenges Tom Hanks on set. His answer is simultaneously humbling and electrifying: 'total terror of losing the battle against self-loathing.' ^{[1] — Tom Hanks "Tom Hanks still feels total terror before every take. The fear of being exposed as a fraud by the 'authenticity police' never goes away — a…" 21:05 Play} Even after decades of celebrated work, the fear of being exposed by the 'authenticity police' never goes away. Hanks frames this not as weakness but as the essential engine of good performance — the fuel that keeps everyone honest in hour 14 of day 47. He then tells a vivid story about his new WW2 destroyer film, shot in Australia, in which he's playing a commander under attack and must deliver precise naval orders he's spent weeks memorising. An Australian extra — grimy, burnt, doing the same background work for two weeks — waits for the final take of the day, then says to Hanks: 'Every time I walk by, all I hear is Woody.' Hanks receives this with characteristic grace, noting it simply illustrates the suspension of disbelief that has underpinned theatre since Aeschylus.