Tom Hanksis one of the most well-known and celebrated actors ever to grace the big screen. Therefore, fans would assume he would have a reasonable idea as to which scenes would be impactful in a film; however, Hanks didn’t realize the iconic status his park bench scene would reach fromForrest Gump. The park bench is, of course, where Forrest spends much of the movie telling his life story to anyone willing to listen, and the source of the often referenced quote, “My Mama always said, life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get."\
Given the importance of the scenes and the popularity that came from them, it’s surprising to hear Hanks didn’t understand the significance of them while filming. While promoting his new film,Elvis, Tom Hanks spoke withCinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcastand shared his thoughts regarding theForrest Gumpscene and how he didn’t know if anyone “would care about this nut sitting on a bench,” his full quote can be found below:
“I will tell you, in Forrest Gump, all the stuff that we shot on the park bench in Savannah, Georgia, we were just shooting fodder for a possible narrative piece of it. And I said to Bob (Zemeckis), ‘Is anyone going to care about this nut sitting on a (bench)? What is this? No one knows what’s in this (box) I mean…’ And we ended up shooting, it was probably like, you know, 13 pages of dialogue that we had to shoot in a day and a half. And so it was written on cue cards. (And) I didn’t need the cue cards after a while because you get into it. But Bob says, ‘I don’t know, it’s a minefield, Tom, it’s a minefield. You never know what people are gonna take away from it!’ And it ends up being, you know, that thing.”
Despite his lack of foresight at the time, Hanks must be satisfied with the outcomes of the scenes shot in the day and a half period.
Related:Best Tom Hanks Movies, Ranked
Forrest Gump and Tom Hanks are Synonymous
Forrest Gumpwas a massive success, and since its release in 1994, the film has become one of the most beloved and legendary movies of all time.Forrest Gumpwas a triumph with audiences and critics, currently sitting in the 11th spot on IMDb’sTop 250 Movies of All Timelist, and brought in $678 million against a $55 million budget.
The film was also a sensation during award season, winning six Oscars, including Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Picture, which beat out another hit film,Pulp Fiction.Forrest Gumphas aged gracefully, proving it to be a film that will stand the test of time and always be regarded as a classic.
If you’re looking for more Tom Hanks, you can find him as Colonel Tom Parker inElvis, starring alongside Austin Butler.Elvisreleases in theaters today, June 24th.
