- Title: Tom Hanks talks Medal of Freedom honour and "Toy Story 4"
- Date: 17th November 2016
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (NOVEMBER 17, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ACTORS AARON ECKHART AND TOM HANKS SPEAKING TO MEDIA
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2016 21:05
- Keywords: Sully Sully: Miracle on the Hudson Tom Hanks Aaron Eckhart movie screening Medal of Freedom
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA00158TY8GD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hollywood star Tom Hanks said he was "glad" and "fortunate" to be selected as a recipient of the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honour in the United States.
"That's extraordinary. It's quite a group of people, I mean everybody from Admiral Grace Hopper to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lorne Michaels and myself. Look, I'm just a dumb kid from Oakland, California, I don't know how any of this happened but I'm glad, I'm very fortunate that I've been able to work enough that it rates such a nod from such a man as the President of the United States," Hanks told Reuters in London on Thursday (November 17), a day after the White House made the announcement.
President Barack Obama will present awardees, including rocker Bruce Springsteen, Motown soul singer Diana Ross, former basketball champion Michael Jordan and actor Robert De Niro, with their medals at a White House ceremony on November 22.
When asked how it felt to be among Obama's last recipients, Hanks replied: "Well bittersweet cause, you know, we have term limits, if he was running again I would've voted for another four years. It ends up being so much of the - what I think is - so much of the promise of the United States. Look, I'm an American, there's no getting around it. I've been able to enjoy the great benefits of my country and my upbringing."
The Oscar-winning actor was in London for a special screening of "Sully: Miracle on the Hudson". The drama, directed by Clint Eastwood, is inspired by the real-life U.S. Airways pilot who landed a damaged plane on the Hudson River in the middle of winter, saving all 155 people on-board.
Hanks, known for his roles in "Forrest Gump", "Saving Private Ryan" and "Cast Away", also commented on his return as Woody in the "Toy Story" series.
"Well it's ['Toy Story 4'] been bumped to 2018 I think now but we've already started recording, so it's in the works," he said.
"The movies are made in such tiny increments over long periods of time. We go into the recording studio and there's a prepared text and you go off that text and you keep experimenting with it, and then they take what you've recorded and they put it through another ring of creativity and alterations. So...I can't wait to see what they've got Woody up to," he added.
"Sully", which has already opened in the U.S. and several other territories, will hit UK cinemas on December 2. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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