Tom Hanks: ‘Larry Crowne Was A Personal Mission’

Larry Crowne, Tom Hanks’ latest project, hits theaters today. He described the film as a ‘very personal mission’ that he was determined to complete.

The 54-year-old actor – who directs and stars in the movie about a man in his 50s who decides to return to education alongside Julia Roberts as the teacher he falls in love with – admits he struggles with the development process for films but feels he has to finish a job once he has started.

“I tell you, it takes it out of you. Both ‘That Thing You Do’ and this, they take a long time to develop and it just percolates in your head until you get to the point where you say to yourself, ‘I don’t want to give this up. I don’t want to give this over to anybody else.'” Hanks explained, “It’s like a very personal mission that you just find yourself on.”

However, the Oscar-winning star admits he does enjoy being in charge on set because it means he has the choice about whether or not to include scenes and takes if he doesn’t like them.

He told Collider.com: “The years, and more specifically probably the four months prior to beginning shooting, is where the big preparation is that the director does because I knew we were going to get on the set.

“The best way in order to go about this is to relatively seamlessly jump in as Larry, come back, go back and forth, and just play because the good news is, if you’re the boss, if it ain’t good, you don’t use it. You just cut it out.”