Tom Hanks is a force to be reckoned with as an actor, bringing his passion to bear on any project and making blockbusters out of films that might not otherwise do as well at the box offices. While 2006’s The Da Vinci Code might have been a big hit with another prominent actor in place of Hanks, the same might not be said of the 2009 follow up, Angels & Demons, a film made markedly better only by Tom’s passion for acting and his familiarity with the character of symbologist Robert Langdon. Now, Hanks appears in the third film adaptation of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon novels, Inferno.
Inferno Brings Tom Hanks Back As Symbologist And Sleuth Robert Langdon
By now, stepping into the shoes of Brown’s Robert Langdon should be old hat for Tom Hanks, but that’s not to say that the adventures on which Langdon finds himself in this new adaptation of Inferno are run of the mill, by any stretch of the imagination. Far from it in fact. Even as the initial trailer for Inferno opens, the first words spoken seem to prophesy intrigue, danger, and a call to action under the most pressing circumstances.
“You are humanity’s final hope,” says an unseen narrator in the Inferno trailer.
The Da Vinci Code introduced audiences to the mysteries of the holy grail and the Catholic mysteries related to that legend, which have been hidden within some of history’s most celebrated works of art. It may not be a coincidence then that Angels & Demons, which slightly deviated from that melding of ancient myth and modern belief in favor of embracing new concepts, such as the god particle, had a lesser draw for audiences. If it is that devotion to classic mythology and the discoveries spelled out in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Inferno may be more in line with what fans of the series expect from the franchise. As the title suggests, this third Tom Hanks-fueled adaptation seeks to explore the mysteries held within Dante’s Inferno.
“Dante defined our modern conception of hell 700 years ago,” says Hanks as Inferno‘s Langdon.
The official plot for Inferno suggests that Inferno takes Langdon on a much broader journey, as he is faced with a threat to all of humanity.
“When Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Dr. Sienna Brooks, and together they must race across Europe against the clock to foil a deadly global plot.”
Hanks Shares What He Would Say To His Younger Self
While Tom may be beloved by millions today, he reveals that, as a child, he was rather lonely and often left to his own devices. Hanks reveals that he’s often brought back to those days of loneliness and solitude, even by something as fleeting as hearing an old song on the radio. Hanks says one reason he was on his own so often in his youth was because he had difficulty expressing himself, a problem which would ultimately lead the Inferno actor to discover theater.
“Not long after this, I started going to the American Conservatory Theater by myself to see plays that I had no idea even existed,” says Hanks.
“What it was, was the vocabulary of loneliness,” adds Tom in describing the themes of the plays he was watching.
The Inferno star reveals that the loneliness faded away when he married his first wife, Samantha Lewes, and had his first child, Colin Hanks, at 21. Tom’s daughter, Elizabeth, added to the feeling of completeness when she was born four and a half years later, and the Inferno actor would continue to be filled with love for his family, even after a 1987 divorce from Lewes.
Hanks says it wasn’t long after that he met his current wife, Rita Wilson. In Ms. Wilson, Tom says he feels complete and, possibly more importantly, he feels as though she genuinely understands him.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to be lonely anymore,” says Tom Hanks.
Inferno, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, is set to see an October 28 theatrical premiere.
[Image by Columbia Pictures]