Photo: Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionTom Hanksonce turned the Mona Lisa exhibit into his personal changing room.Speaking withThe New York Times, theElvisactor, 65, recalled making the 2006 Ron Howard mystery-thrillerThe Da Vinci Code, filming on location in Paris. While he admitted the big-screen Dan Brown adaptation was “hooey,” he praised the memorable experiences and access he got to have while making the project.“Let me tell you something else aboutThe Da Vinci Code. It was my 40th-something birthday. We were shooting in the Louvre at night. I changed my pants in front ofthe Mona Lisa!” said Hanks of the Leonardo da Vinci painting, which is on display in the Louvre museum. “They brought me a birthday cake in the Grand Salon! Who gets to have that experience? Any cynicism there? Hell no!“Hanks played Robert Langdon in theDa Vinci Code, which also starred Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Paul Bettany. Hanks reprised the role in 2009’sAngels & Demonsand 2016’sInferno.The topic of the franchise came up in the interview after Hanks said, “I’m not a cynic.” Reporter David Marchese then asked, “Making those Robert Langdon sequels wasn’t a little cynical?“Tom Hanks.Chris Hyde/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Oh, God, that was a commercial enterprise,” said Hanks. “Yeah, those Robert Langdon sequels are hooey.The Da Vinci Codewas hooey. I mean, Dan Brown, God bless him, says, ‘Here is a sculpture in a place in Paris! No, it’s way over there. See how a cross is formed on a map? Well, it’ssortof a cross.’ Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage. But they’re as cynical as a crossword puzzle.““All we were doing is promising a diversion. There’s nothing wrong with good commerce, provided it is good commerce,” he continued. “By the time we made the third one, we proved that it wasn’t such good commerce.“Elsewhere in the interview, Hanks was asked to share the first thing that came to mind when he’s asked for a memory from his career. He offered an anecdote from the set of 1994’sForrest Gump.“We were shooting the park-bench scenes ofForrest Gump. It’s summertime in Savannah, Georgia. We had shot 27 straight days. It was brutal,” he recalled. “We were sitting there, and I got this haircut, we’re trying to make sense of this dialogue, and I had to say, ‘Bob, man, I don’t think anybody’s going to care.’ And [director Robert Zemeckis] said: ‘It’s a minefield, Tom. You never know what’s good. Are you going to make it through safe? Or are you gonna step on a Bouncing Betty that’s going to blow your balls off?’ There’s never any guarantee.““I’ll be 66 in July, and I’ve been acting for a paycheck since I was 20. Forty-six years and I now know what was evident when I was 20 years old is what Spencer Tracy said: ‘Learn the lines. Hit the marks. Tell the truth.’ That’s all you can do,” added Hanks.Elvisis in theaters June 24.
Photo: Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Tom Hanksonce turned the Mona Lisa exhibit into his personal changing room.Speaking withThe New York Times, theElvisactor, 65, recalled making the 2006 Ron Howard mystery-thrillerThe Da Vinci Code, filming on location in Paris. While he admitted the big-screen Dan Brown adaptation was “hooey,” he praised the memorable experiences and access he got to have while making the project.“Let me tell you something else aboutThe Da Vinci Code. It was my 40th-something birthday. We were shooting in the Louvre at night. I changed my pants in front ofthe Mona Lisa!” said Hanks of the Leonardo da Vinci painting, which is on display in the Louvre museum. “They brought me a birthday cake in the Grand Salon! Who gets to have that experience? Any cynicism there? Hell no!“Hanks played Robert Langdon in theDa Vinci Code, which also starred Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Paul Bettany. Hanks reprised the role in 2009’sAngels & Demonsand 2016’sInferno.The topic of the franchise came up in the interview after Hanks said, “I’m not a cynic.” Reporter David Marchese then asked, “Making those Robert Langdon sequels wasn’t a little cynical?“Tom Hanks.Chris Hyde/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Oh, God, that was a commercial enterprise,” said Hanks. “Yeah, those Robert Langdon sequels are hooey.The Da Vinci Codewas hooey. I mean, Dan Brown, God bless him, says, ‘Here is a sculpture in a place in Paris! No, it’s way over there. See how a cross is formed on a map? Well, it’ssortof a cross.’ Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage. But they’re as cynical as a crossword puzzle.““All we were doing is promising a diversion. There’s nothing wrong with good commerce, provided it is good commerce,” he continued. “By the time we made the third one, we proved that it wasn’t such good commerce.“Elsewhere in the interview, Hanks was asked to share the first thing that came to mind when he’s asked for a memory from his career. He offered an anecdote from the set of 1994’sForrest Gump.“We were shooting the park-bench scenes ofForrest Gump. It’s summertime in Savannah, Georgia. We had shot 27 straight days. It was brutal,” he recalled. “We were sitting there, and I got this haircut, we’re trying to make sense of this dialogue, and I had to say, ‘Bob, man, I don’t think anybody’s going to care.’ And [director Robert Zemeckis] said: ‘It’s a minefield, Tom. You never know what’s good. Are you going to make it through safe? Or are you gonna step on a Bouncing Betty that’s going to blow your balls off?’ There’s never any guarantee.““I’ll be 66 in July, and I’ve been acting for a paycheck since I was 20. Forty-six years and I now know what was evident when I was 20 years old is what Spencer Tracy said: ‘Learn the lines. Hit the marks. Tell the truth.’ That’s all you can do,” added Hanks.Elvisis in theaters June 24.
Tom Hanksonce turned the Mona Lisa exhibit into his personal changing room.
Speaking withThe New York Times, theElvisactor, 65, recalled making the 2006 Ron Howard mystery-thrillerThe Da Vinci Code, filming on location in Paris. While he admitted the big-screen Dan Brown adaptation was “hooey,” he praised the memorable experiences and access he got to have while making the project.
“Let me tell you something else aboutThe Da Vinci Code. It was my 40th-something birthday. We were shooting in the Louvre at night. I changed my pants in front ofthe Mona Lisa!” said Hanks of the Leonardo da Vinci painting, which is on display in the Louvre museum. “They brought me a birthday cake in the Grand Salon! Who gets to have that experience? Any cynicism there? Hell no!”
Hanks played Robert Langdon in theDa Vinci Code, which also starred Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Paul Bettany. Hanks reprised the role in 2009’sAngels & Demonsand 2016’sInferno.
The topic of the franchise came up in the interview after Hanks said, “I’m not a cynic.” Reporter David Marchese then asked, “Making those Robert Langdon sequels wasn’t a little cynical?”
Tom Hanks.Chris Hyde/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Oh, God, that was a commercial enterprise,” said Hanks. “Yeah, those Robert Langdon sequels are hooey.The Da Vinci Codewas hooey. I mean, Dan Brown, God bless him, says, ‘Here is a sculpture in a place in Paris! No, it’s way over there. See how a cross is formed on a map? Well, it’ssortof a cross.’ Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage. But they’re as cynical as a crossword puzzle.”
“All we were doing is promising a diversion. There’s nothing wrong with good commerce, provided it is good commerce,” he continued. “By the time we made the third one, we proved that it wasn’t such good commerce.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Hanks was asked to share the first thing that came to mind when he’s asked for a memory from his career. He offered an anecdote from the set of 1994’sForrest Gump.
“We were shooting the park-bench scenes ofForrest Gump. It’s summertime in Savannah, Georgia. We had shot 27 straight days. It was brutal,” he recalled. “We were sitting there, and I got this haircut, we’re trying to make sense of this dialogue, and I had to say, ‘Bob, man, I don’t think anybody’s going to care.’ And [director Robert Zemeckis] said: ‘It’s a minefield, Tom. You never know what’s good. Are you going to make it through safe? Or are you gonna step on a Bouncing Betty that’s going to blow your balls off?’ There’s never any guarantee.”
“I’ll be 66 in July, and I’ve been acting for a paycheck since I was 20. Forty-six years and I now know what was evident when I was 20 years old is what Spencer Tracy said: ‘Learn the lines. Hit the marks. Tell the truth.’ That’s all you can do,” added Hanks.
Elvisis in theaters June 24.
source: people.com
