As an actor I am always waiting for my luck to run out.
Tom HanksRead
Even if a story has nothing to do with my life, if I can recognise something of myself in the character and think, 'Oh yeah, that's what I'd do...' Yeah, that's what I look for.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of personal connection and relatability in storytelling.
Tom Hanks expresses the idea that even fictional narratives that do not directly reflect his own experiences can resonate with him if he can find common ground with the characters. This recognition allows him to engage with stories on a deeper level, highlighting the universal nature of certain human experiences and emotions that transcend individual circumstances.
In practice
Using this quote in a literature class to discuss character development and empathy.
As an actor I am always waiting for my luck to run out.
Even the simplest choice can make a jaw-dropping difference in our world.
My kid could get a bad X-ray and I could get a call from the doctor saying I have something growing in my bum and that would change my perspective on everything instantaneously, on what is and what is not important.
Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs' that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what's going on today?
I think it's better to feel good than to look good.
If you look at romantic comedies as pieces of commerce, the audience is looking for wish fulfillment.
I am very happy to design haute couture. It's a love story between couture and me.
Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there's an explosion-that's Plot.
And it was always the stories that needed the telling that gave us the rope we could cross any river with. They balanced us high above any crevasse. They made us be natural acrobats. They made us brave. They met us well. They changed us. It was in their nature to.
You want to say as little as you can and get the most punch out of it, always with the knowledge that people are not in the theater to listen to your music so much as to respond to the movie. You're a part of that experience.
Film editing is now something almost everyone can do at a simple level and enjoy it, but to take it to a higher level requires the same dedication and persistence that any art form does.
I was attracted to science fiction because it was so wide open. I was able to do anything and there were no walls to hem you in and there was no human condition that you were stopped from examining.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.