Tom Hanks says ‘no one’ talks about one of his most important films

Tom Hanks has revealed which of his films he believes does not get enough praise.

The actor has been a regular fixture in Hollywood since the late 1980s, racking up roles in high-profile films including Big, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me If You Can.

He won two Oscars back-to-back in 1994 and 1995 for Forrest Gump and Philadelphia respectively, with the Cast Away actor being nominated for Best Actor an additional three times.

His most recent nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, came in 2020 for his role of Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood.

But Hanks believes the 2002 gangster film Road to Perdition is one of his best, and said in a new interview that it isn’t discussed enough when people speak about his career.

”For one reason or another, no one references Road to Perdition, and that was an incredibly important movie for me to go through,” he said on the ReelBlend podcast.

“It was shot by Conrad Hall, and you have me in it, ‘Don Moustache’ with a hat on it, but you also have two guys who turned out to be two of the biggest motion picture presences in the history of the industry with Jude Law and [Daniel] Craig,” he continued, adding: “And I killed both of them…”

The Sam Mendes-directed Road to Perdition was adapted from Max Allan Collins’ graphic novel by screenwriter David Self. It follows Hanks as mob enforcer Michael Sullivan, whose son witnesses a murder that sets his father on a path of redemption.

Hanks continued: “People always say, ‘What movies will they be talking about years from now?’

“As a guy who watches Turner Classic Movies a lot, the more obscure and unknown a movie from 1940s or 1950s the better, because I have no preconceived notions about it; I don’t know anything about it.

“When you watch those movies and it’s crackerjack and it’s incredibly moving, all I can think of is, ‘I’m so glad this movie lasts forever, so I got a chance to revisit it now.’ That might be the case with Road to Perdition.”

Hanks can currently be seen in A Man Called Otto, while Mendes’ new film Empire of Light is in cinemas now.