Wales On Sunday

When you have love in your life, you’re a different human being

Read all about it... MARION McMULLEN asks Tom Hanks about his first Western that sees a Civil War veteran take a lost girl under his wing

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THE hills are alive with the sound of Tom Hanks. The Hollywood favourite led the cast of News Of The World in a rousing chorus of Do-Re-Mi and The Lonely Goatherd from the Sound Of Music when they were filming on location.

His young co-star Helena Zengel had never heard of the classic musical, but he soon had her joining in between takes. Helena says: “Tom said, ‘You haven’t seen The Sound of Music? You have to see it!’ So I watched the movie with my studio teacher and we liked Do-Re-Mi very much. Then Tom found that out and he said, ‘Now, let’s sing what Helena likes the most!’ So, the whole crew actually sang Do-Re-Mi and I sang along.”

One of Tinseltown’s best-loved actors, Tom won Oscars for his films Forrest Gump and Philadelph­ia and has been nominated for his roles in Big, Cast Away, Saving Private Ryan and A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourh­ood, but he’s never made a Western before.

As in most films of the genre, there is a shoot-out and the 64-year-old says this was one of the toughest scenes to nail.

“We shot it very precarious­ly behind rocks on the side of a hill,” he says. “We climbed up into the rocks, hid behind rocks, skinned our knees, ran around those rocks. Not easy to shoot, but the setting provided tension all its own. That was delicious because all you had to do was be in the space.”

Producer Gary Goetzman says: “This is the first time we’ve seen Tom in the Western milieu.

People might ask why it has taken him so long. He’s just perfect for this film. And this period is a favourite of his. It was time for him to put his b*tt in the saddle.”

The movie is set on the Texan frontier in 1870 and sees Tom as Civil War veteran Captain Kidd who travels from town to town reading out the news and who reluctantl­y agrees to return a young girl called Johanna to her distant settler family, travelling hundreds of miles across dangerous terrain.

Tom says he was drawn to the character because he was moved by Kidd’s pursuit of the truth.

“He wanted to communicat­e an authentic worldview that was going on because he knew that, along with education and entertainm­ent, the powers of enlightenm­ent could be exchanged in the readings that he gave. I thought it was right up my alley when Kidd uses words and the news and the truth to get out of the circumstan­ce in which an awful lot of Westerns would have been satisfied with gunplay.”

He also appreciate­s that Kidd is fighting elements of his own nature.

“Not trusting anybody from the outside is a lousy way to live overall. That’s like a recipe for being cranky every single day of your life. Kidd is an older man who’s seen what it looks like to give into fear and outrage and xenophobia. He’s seen life at its absolute cruellest, most mindless, in the war and he’s had enough of it; yet, in one aspect, he’s still in the middle of it.”

The California­n continues: “Still, Kidd’s message is, ‘If we want to, we’ll be alright. So, let me tell you about some things that are going on in the world that will add some perspectiv­e to our individual tough

Kidd is an older man who’s seen what it looks like to give into fear and outrage and xenophobia. He’s seen life at its absolute cruellest, most mindless, in the war and he’s had enough of it.

Tom Hanks on his character in The News Of The World

times that we’re going through and maybe, when we come out of it, we might just learn that we’re luckier than we think we are.’”

Tom has worked with writer and director Paul Greengrass before, on the 2013 movie Captain Phillips, and says: “Paul starts with the procedure of the role—in this case the clippings, the lamps, the collection of dimes, then the readings. I find that grounds the character and allows whatever has to happen. His cameras are objective—capturing the action rather than being set up for ‘shots.’”

Young German actress Helena had no idea how famous her co-star was when they first started working together but says: “We really had fun because he’s funny, he’s so nice, he is totally not like a superstar you would expect. Maybe you think he’s coming with his Mercedes or whatever, coming to set, driving in with his sunglasses like you see in the movies, but no. He’s coming in very loose jeans and very loose shoes, as if he was just chilling out, and I was like ‘OK, he’s not as superstar as you would think of him. He made it really easy and we became close friends pretty fast because he’s just amazing, and I think he likes me too.”

News of the World was the 12-year-old’s first Hollywood movie, after appearing in a number of German films, and she has been nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her impressive performanc­e.

She and Tom are in the running for Critics’ Choice awards, while the movie is up for Best Picture.

Helena adds: “It was such a crazy shoot but it was amazing and one of the greatest times of my life and I think I’ll never forget it, my first Hollywood movie and it was with Tom Hanks.”

And what does Tom hope viewers will take from the movie? “That the truth will bind us all together for the better.

“Kidd was a better man because he was burdened with this child, Johanna.

“Every spirituali­ty in the world bows to the fact that when you have love in your life, you’re a different human being.”

■ News Of The World is streaming on Netflix now.

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 ??  ?? Helena Zengel says co-starring with Tom Hanks was a memorable introducti­on to Hollywood
Helena Zengel says co-starring with Tom Hanks was a memorable introducti­on to Hollywood
 ??  ?? Tom Hanks says the story of an early travelling newsman in the Wild West appealed to him
Tom Hanks says the story of an early travelling newsman in the Wild West appealed to him
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 ??  ?? Director Paul Greengrass
Director Paul Greengrass

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