Tom Hanks’s childhood was no laughing matter.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs,” Hanks revealed that he experienced a childhood that was filled with loneliness—a feeling that essentially led to his career in acting.
Hanks said the question he would ask himself as a young man was, “How do I find the vocabulary for what’s rattling around in my head?” rather than formulate a plan to pursue acting.
“Not long after this, I started going to the American Conservatory Theater by myself to see plays that I had no idea even existed,” he said.
The “Forest Gump” actor began to choke up as the pair continued to reflect on his childhood that consisted of living in 10 homes over a five year span.
“What have you done to me?” an emotional Hanks asked Young, who offered her apologies. “What it was, was the vocabulary of loneliness,” answered Hanks when asked what exactly was rattling in his head.
It was not until Hanks was cast in a play age 20 that he would have his ‘Eureka’ moment—all the great plays were about loneliness.
