After their successful collaboration in Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg joined forces once again to become executive producers on the miniseries Band of Brothers, which was based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 book of the same name. The series dramatizes the history of Easy Company and their participation and sacrifices in World War 2.
Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan (image credit: Paramount Pictures)
True to the title, Hanks and Spielberg found a young cast of actors who went through rigorous physical training sessions as part of the preparation for their roles. When the boot camp proved to be extremely challenging for some of the cast members, the Forrest Gump actor lifted their spirits with an inspiring and motivating speech that left them awestruck.
Tom Hanks Ensured That The Band Of Brothers Cast Was Fully Committed To The Show
The Golden Globe and Emmy-winning miniseries Band Of Brothers saw Tom Hanks take his successful professional relationship with Steven Spielberg a step further by collaborating with him as executive producer on the show. Hanks was also involved in the scripting, which saw him turn writer for the 1st and the 5th episode.
A still from Band of Brothers (image credit: HBO)
The series, which followed a group of paratroopers from the Easy Company who bravely put their bodies on the line in World War 2, had an ensemble cast of young stars playing these courageous soldiers. To prepare for their roles, the actors went through an intensive training session that involved a lot of physical challenges that tested their resilience.
After days of constant rigor, a few members of the cast looked to be fading away and mentally crumbling under the pressure. To ensure that their spirits were kept up in order to give their very best to the film, Hanks, who was filming Cast Away at the time, flew in to give an inspiring pep talk to the team.
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Neal McDonough, who played officer Buck Compton, recalled the Philadelphia star’s motivating speech that served as a welcome shot for the cast to pull their socks up and endure the process for the sake of the film. In the Inside Of You podcast, he reminisced about Hanks’ unforgettable entry and his monologue that galvanized the team.
And then Tom Hanks came in a helicopter, with his Cast Away beard and hair. And gave us this speech as to why we owe it to the men of Easy Company to work our butts off to tell the truth, because they died for us. Were it not for them, we wouldn’t be speaking English right now, were it not for these men who gave their lives for us.
The actor’s words made such a big impact that McDonough and the rest of his co-stars began to revere and respect him even more than before. As it turned out, Hanks’ timely arrival ensured that everyone got back on the same page and worked towards a common goal.
Here’s How Tom Hanks Helped Toy Story Gain Its Cult Status
Just like his inspiring monologue that lifted the spirits of the cast members in Band Of Brothers, Tom Hanks’ influence in Hollywood stretches beyond his efforts as an actor. The celebrity proved this once again with his successful association with Pixar’s Toy Story franchise.
A still from Toy Story (image credit: Pixar)
The films pioneered a whole new method of storytelling in animation by combining profound emotion with lighthearted humor. A large part of the film’s success is thanks to Hanks, who voiced the kindhearted cowboy toy Woody, making him one of the most endearing characters across animated features of all time.
But the Oscar winner did just more than lend his voice. He was instrumental in giving the franchise its identity and saving it from oblivion. Despite Toy Story’s stupendous success in theaters, there were serious talks about sending its sequel Toy Story 2 straight to DVD without it releasing on the big screen.
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But when Hanks and Tim Allen, who voiced Buzz Lightyear got wind of this new plan, they vehemently opposed it. In an interview with The Daily Mirror (via Female First), the actor echoed Allen’s thoughts as well when he said,
Tim and I and everybody else connected with it wanted to know why. We said it should be released as a film because it was magnificent and as good as the first one. Usually, sequels are pale imitations and are slapped on video but this was really great.
Thanks to the unconditional support of its main star and his belief in the franchise, Toy Story went on to expand as a franchise with more sequels, and received widespread praise from audiences and critics across the world.
Band Of Brothers is streaming on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire