Tom Hanks In Saving Private Ryan(Photo Credit –Facebook)
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Saving Private Ryan brought together two names that had already built mutual trust for each other – Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Their creative bond didn’t start on the battlefield but had roots going back years, long before they found themselves knee deep in mud, filming one of the most ambitious war films ever made.
Spielberg had previously backed some of Hanks’ earlier work, and by the time they reunited for Saving Private Ryan, their working relationship had evolved into something rare in Hollywood: one based on honesty and, more importantly, fearlessness.
Steven Spielberg’s Flexible Filmmaking Style On A Massive War Set
The film’s scale was huge, and there was no room for hesitation, but Steven Spielberg was still open to improvisation. He didn’t lean heavily on locked-down scripts or rigid shot lists and was always open to flexibility and disagreement. As a result, Hanks, who was more than just an actor on set, made the most of that space.
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Happy birthday to Tom Hanks, seen here w/ Steven Spielberg filming ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998). pic.twitter.com/MY8jj85NFv
Tom Hanks Refused A Monologue That Could’ve Been Oscar Bait
One of the boldest calls Hanks made was when a dramatic monologue, which was carefully written to impress any award jury, landed in his hands. It gave his character, Captain John Miller, a moment to open up fully, to stop being the dutiful leader and finally tell all. However, Hanks read it and said no.
“It was a monologue any actor would kill to have, because my character finally got to drop this whole mantle,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “But I didn’t want to drop the mantle.” “If you have that moment where, OK, now we’re going to let our hair down, it would just cheapen the character and compromise the integrity of who he is throughout the entire movie,” Hanks explained.
Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks Clashed Over A Key Combat Scene
Earlier, Hanks and Spielberg had already butted heads over another moment. The director was unsure how audiences would react to seeing Hanks fire off an assault rifle. The image of America’s most beloved everyman gunning down enemies was something Spielberg found tough to picture.
But Hanks stood firm there too, as he knew who Miller was and what the war asked of him. None of this came from ego. For Hanks, it came from a place of protecting the character. He was not interested in flashy lines or dramatic reveals if it meant undercutting what the story had been carefully building.
Hanks knew Captain Miller needed to stay composed and not get transformed into an emotional mouthpiece because the script demanded it.
