Tom Hanks is more than just an excellent actor, wedding guest, sports fan, and hard-core rap inspiration. He is also an amazing audition-teur. We already kinda figured this, given all of the starring roles he’s landed, the Oscars he’s obtained, etc. But now we have proof.
Hanks’s audition tape for Forrest Gump has surfaced on the Web 20 years after the award-winning Robert Zemeckis drama premiered. In the above video, you see the actor reading several scenes opposite the equally wonderful Robin Wright, the actress cast as his long-eluding love interest, Jenny. The reel also includes auditions from the actors playing young Forrest and young Jenny, as well as Haley Joel Osment, who played Forrest’s son. Granted, it’s likely this isn’t a true audition, since Hanks was an enormous movie star and probably didn’t audition like any working actor, but at the very least it’s a glimpse into the early version of his Oscar-winning performance.
One thing that is curiously missing, though: Gump’s Southern accent. Take a look.
This post has been updated to reflect the fact that it is unknown whether this is a true audition tape or mere rehearsal footage.
