What Tom Hanks Told Me Changed How I View Working On Sets

I had a scene with Tom Hanks in the movie A Man Called Otto, and I thanked him for something while we were just hanging out in between takes. And what he said to me completely changed the way I work on sets, and I want to share it with you here. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and I am really excited about sharing what Tom Hanks said to me on the set of A Man Called Otto. It's completely changed the way that I work on sets just by this one phrase. And before I tell you that, you should know, look, on a movie set, everything starts from the top. The director, sometimes it could be the star, But typically the director, it really creates the atmosphere for the entire set. And if you have a star or a director who's kind of nasty, you're going to find that it filters its way down to everybody working on the set, from the assistant director to the crew. To the PAs, the production assistants. It's just this really negative attitude that, that just envelops you. And I've experienced it. I'm assuming you have as well. And just the opposite will happen when you have somebody who's just really kind and nice and warm. That makes its way down to everybody. So when I was talking with Tom Hanks, He— basically what I said to him was I wanted to thank him for creating such a warm atmosphere on the set. It was a tough shoot physically. It was a very difficult shoot, and I'll tell you about it in a second. And when I mentioned that to him, I kind of expected him to say, oh, you know, thank you, that's very nice of you, I appreciate it. You know, just something like that. Instead, What he said to me was, he looked at me right in the eyes and he said, Aaron, we're all on the same team here. You know, we have one goal. Everybody on this team is just trying to make something great. And it hit me hard. And I can tell you, for the shoot, It was a difficult scene. It's really cold outside. I did a stunt where I'm falling off a train platform and I go down 8 feet onto the train tracks and my face is in snow that they created. The metal on the train tracks was really bothering my face. It was very uncomfortable. However, after I talked with him, I didn't care. All I kept thinking was, I'm on this team. I am on this team, and all we want to do is make sure that this scene is powerful, this scene is memorable, this scene is something that is incredibly Realistic, and that's all I cared about. I wanted to do something to help the team, not me as an individual actor trying to do something that's going to make me look good. I wanted to be a part of this team. And, you know, it wasn't just words that he said. I watched him. He was walking around to all the extras, shaking their hand, thanking them very much for doing such a great job. You know, he would say, I know it's really cold outside. Thank you, you guys are Great. And that stuff filters down to catering, the crew. Everybody on that set was so kind. Now let me just make sure that this is clear. Just because an actor isn't doing those kinds of things, doesn't walk around, doesn't, you know, talk with extras or crew people, and it doesn't mean the person's not a nice human being. Doesn't mean that they're nasty or anything like that. Look, everybody has a different kind of day. I can tell you that I have had some scenes that were really tough emotionally, and I didn't want to hang out with other people. I wasn't being nasty or anything. I was doing my job, and I felt like I really needed to separate myself from people and not involve myself in conversations and niceties and things like that. So just because somebody doesn't do those kinds of things, it's not any kind of statement about the actor. But for Tom Hanks, I can tell you he was humble, he was kind, he was generous, and, and I'm telling you, it changes The entire atmosphere on the set. Now I want to ask you, if you have ever been on a set and watched people being very generous and very kind and doing nice things, please share it in the comments below. I love hearing from my fellow actors, and not only do I read and respond to each one, but you're going to be helping fellow actors as well. If you find that this is helpful to you, you find it interesting, please make sure you subscribe, click the bell so that way you always know when a new video has been uploaded, and share the link with your fellow actors to help give them information as well. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.