Tom Hanks became an American cultural icon after starring in movies like Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump and Cast Away. Now, he’s channeled everything he’s learned from his nearly 45-year-long film career into a fictional novel about the industry. He speaks with Q’s Tom Power about the real experiences that inspired the book.
The 65-year-old actor has made headlines in recent days after sparking concerns over his health when he was filmed visibly shaking, while he was also caught in an altercation with an aggressive fan.
Speaking on Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review in 2019, Hanks said: “Let me just go back a little bit, my make-up man, [the late] Danny Striepeke – who did my make-up, for I think, 17 films – had done Elvis on, among others, Viva Las Vegas… and Harum Sacrum and Kissin’ Cousins.
“So he had made some really lousy Elvis movies. He told me stories about both Elvis and also Colonel Parker.
“So I was a little bit hip to what that union was… that odd kinda like…Mephistophelian bargain…”
The 64-year-old’s reference there was to Mephistopheles, a demon from German folklore who makes a pact with Faust for his soul on behalf of the devil.