An Episode With:
Tom Hanks
Now that you’re a grandfather, can you talk about the evolution of toys — from what your kids played with to what your grandkids are interested in?
The ability to watch anything they want to watch anytime they want to watch it has altered the entertainment dynamic. They are still very connected to physical three-dimensional toys. I think their parents monitor how much time they sit and be entertained by something on a screen. When that goes away, I’m astounded by how many yard games, how many balls are kicked and how many dolls are still played with.
What guilty pleasures are you introducing to them?
I’m not so much introducing toys as opposed to other types of pleasures, like oddly shaped pancakes in the morning, root beer served in ice-cold mugs from the freezer. I’m trying to give them Type 2 diabetes at an early age ... As soon as they get old enough we’re going to have “make your own taco night” and that will be hilarious because it’s going to be a mess.
The theme of the Toy Story franchise is about loyalty and friendship. Do you have a group of friends you’ve maintained during the years?
Oh yeah, a very small group of friends. I’ve lived a bit of a vagabond life because I go off and I do these jobs. I think my core group of six to eight friends constantly seek each other out and try to find those moments where we’re all together. You don’t need 800 friends. When you were at school did you struggle to make friends?
I did not struggle to make friends. I kind of entered in a racing car going 80. I loved being in a new atmosphere. I moved around a lot as a kid and I was never intimidated by going to school. I always enjoyed being “the new guy” and ripping it up and finding one or two like-minded folks like me.
Do you have a higher person or entity you aspire to belong to?
Not to get too wildly spiritual about it but yeah, I would say that it is the connection to other human beings, that is the secret of living and is the essence of life. In some form it is the definition of eternity — when you can actually be connected to people you love and you let them know continuously that you love them.
I think it was Buzz Lightyear who told Woody to listen to his inner voice. When and how often do you listen to yours?
I’m 62 years old, I’m now quasi-responsible for yet another generation of human beings on the planet and I do want to be better in every way for them. In your 20s, you don’t know who you are; in your 30s, you’re trying to take on the world, in your 40s, you’re trying to establish yourself as something and in your 50s, you’ve got your head down, you’re just trying to round it out but by the time you’re in your 60s, you realise there’s a lot of stuff that’s not nearly as important as you thought it was.
Why do you think it happens in your 60s?
It’s the superego that tells you to take a backseat and let the tide take you. That’s where I am.
By the time you’re in your 60s, you realise there’s a lot of stuff that’s not nearly as important as you thought.
Have you ever rescued a damsel in distress? Well, yes. Because I have made Rita Wilson, my wife, the happiest woman on the planet! And I’m not sure she would have been satisfied had I not come along and seen that. I was like, “I know what this lady needs! She needs a little dose of Tom Hanks.” No, in truth, I was drowning at sea and then Rita swam out and saved me, so it all seems to balance out.
Have you considered running for office?
I don’t think we need to cast the President of the United States, do we? We’ve done that a couple of times and the casting has been bad. And currently we seem to have the government we deserve or that we have chosen for ourselves. I don’t think I have much to add to it.
Does celebrity come with responsibility? There’s no hiding some aspect of the responsibility; at the same time, sometimes you’ve got to avoid some really major assholes on this planet Earth. I don’t think it’s hard to do that because people define themselves right off the bat. Celebrity and acknowledgement and attention can ultimately infantilise you sometimes, and I think you have to understand that it’s a head game. I wish I knew who said it, but I read once, “You should try to be kind to people because on any given moment they’re dealing with a crisis of their lives.”