Forty-plus years into his acting career, Tom Hanks is still going strong. He’s onscreen next as Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann‘s “Elvis” as Presley’s manager, and after that, he’s in Marc Forster‘s “A Man Called Otto” and Wes Anderson‘s latest, “Asteroid City.”
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But in a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine, Hanks didn’t talk about his upcoming roles. Instead, he spoke about some of his older ones, like his back-to-back Oscar-winning roles in “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump,” and how he wouldn’t be able to play those parts today. Hanks acknowledged both films as “timely movies, at the time, that you might not be able to make now.” And why not? Well, in the case of “Philadelphia,” Hanks said there would be “no way a straight actor would be cast” in that role today.
“There’s nothing you can do about that,” said Hanks” but let’s address ‘Could a straight man do what I did in “Philadelphia” now?’ No, and rightly so. The whole point of “Philadelphia” was don’t be afraid. One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man. We’re beyond that now, and I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy.” And Hanks has a point here: the Hollywood climate for gays portraying themselves onscreen instead of being depicted by straight actors is much more comfortable nowadays. Look at “Bros,” Nicolas Stoller‘s upcoming gay rom-com that stars Billy Eichner and a principal cast that’s entirely LBGTQ+. There’s no way that would happen in 1993.
Hanks went on, “It’s not a crime, it’s not boohoo that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie in the modern realm of authenticity. Do I sound like I’m preaching? I don’t mean to.” And Hanks isn’t preaching. It’s a lot more likely for gay people to be able to depict themselves onscreen today, although occasionally straight actors still play queer roles. Recent examples include Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in his upcoming Netflix biopic “Maestro” or Ewan McGregor‘s Emmy-winning performance as fashion designer Halston in “Halston.” Still, gay actors being more able to portray gay roles is a sign of the times, demonstrating how far Hollywood has come regarding inclusion in the last thirty years.
As for “Forrest Gump,” Hanks said if Hollywood tried to make the film today, it would be “dead in the water.” Maybe, maybe not. But having someone with a below-average IQ depict Gump is a different, arguably thornier issue than gay and queer-identifying people playing themselves onscreen. Catch Hanks in “Elvis’ when the film hits theaters on June 24.