"Look, this is a family business": Tom Hanks defends son's casting in 'A Man Called Otto'

Record ID: 1705261

  • Title: "Look, this is a family business": Tom Hanks defends son's casting in 'A Man Called Otto'
  • Date: 3rd January 2023
  • Summary: UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATION (DECEMBER 5, 2022) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND PRODUCER, TOM HANKS, SAYING: “There are huge differences between the social structure of Sweden and the social structure of the United States of America and actually that gave us more things in order to examine. In the United States of America, for a Mexican family to move across the street, it has very specific connotations to it, different than it would even in Sweden.”
  • Embargoed: 17th January 2023 21:53
  • Keywords: A Man Called Otto Remake Rights Rita Wilson Sweden Tom Hanks Truman Hanks
  • Location: UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS; LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM; LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS; LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM; LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA00A021703012023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hollywood’s nice guy Tom Hanks is breaking type by playing a grumpy old man in ‘A Man Called Otto’.
    However, Hanks didn’t have to audition as he and his wife Rita Wilson bought the rights to adapt the Swedish novel and Oscar-nominated film ‘A Man Called Ove’ for American audiences.
    Speaking to Reuters, Hanks said “Look, I’m selfish. I’m a selfish actor and I’m very competitive and I know a good role when I see one and I don’t think that anybody else was considered for the role of Otto in ‘A Man Called Otto’ because I selfishly said ‘I know exactly what I want to do here, I know exactly how to be not just cranky but also always correct’. If there’s anybody in this movie that is right one hundred percent of the time in the movie, it’s Otto and I like playing the guy who’s always right.”
    When you meet Otto, he is walking around his neighborhood chastising all the residents for various reasons, from dogs peeing on his front lawn to postal vans parking in the street.
    After playing so many nice guy roles, was it freeing for Hanks to be rude?
    “Well it’s freeing to mumble it under your breath while nobody can really hear it,” said Hanks, adding “What is freeing is being able to use the body language that says the same thing, you know. Like ugh, you know, that. A good frustrated sigh is almost as good as one of those yoga breaths, you know where you’re supposed to just clear everything out.”
    The film not only stars Hanks and features a song by his wife, but his son Truman plays the younger version of Otto in flashbacks during the film.
    Hanks said “Look. This is a family business. This is what we’ve been doing forever. It’s what all of our kids grew up in. We have four kids, they are all very creative, they are all involved in some brand of storytelling and if we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florists shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point even if it was just inventory at the end of the year.”
    In the film, Otto’s behavior to his neighbors is finally brought into check when a Latino family moves in across the street and begins to show kindness to the old man.
    To ensure that there were distinct differences between ‘A Man Called Otto’ and ‘A Man Called Ove’, Hanks and his wife brought in the producer of the original film, Fredrik Wikstrom.
    “There are huge differences between the social structure of Sweden and the social structure of the United States of America and actually that gave us more things in order to examine,” said Hanks.
    He added “In the United States of America, for a Mexican family to move across the street, it has very specific connotations to it, different than it would even in Sweden.”
    ‘A Man Called Otto’ goes on full theatrical release in the United States on January 4.
    (Production: Rollo Ross)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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