Steven Spielberg says the secret to Tom Hanks' talent is that he "doesn't act".
Steven Spielberg
Spielberg has collaborated with Hanks on numerous movies, including 'Saving Private Ryan', 'Catch Me If You Can' and most recently Cold War drama 'Bridge of Spies'.
They first worked together on 1986 comedy 'The Money Pit' - which Spielberg wrote - and he was amazed the way the actor made the script seem as though it was a natural conversation.
Speaking to Loaded.co.uk, he shared: "The first thing I noticed about Tom is that I never caught him acting. He said the lines as if there was no script, as if there was no director, no lights and he was just talking to me."
Before 'The Money Pit', Spielberg had followed Hanks' career closely and was a "big fan" of lots of his films.
He said: "I was a big fan of Tom in 'Bosom Buddies'. He also did 'Every Time I Say Goodbye' in Israel that I liked a lot and then 'Volunteers' with Rita Wilson. So I was really acquainted with his work before we did 'The Money Pit'."
Spielberg also credits Hanks, 59, with helping him understand the significance of the real life events that inspired 'Bridge of Spies'.
In the film, Hanks plays James B. Donovan, a US insurance lawyer recruited by the CIA to negotiate a swap between Russian spy Rudolf Abel - portrayed by Mark Rylance, who won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance - and American pilot Gary Powers, acted by Austin Stowell.
Spielberg said: "Somebody came to me and said, 'Do you want to make a movie about Gary Powers being shot down above the Soviet Union in his U2?' And that might have been enough for one whole movie. But Tom and I later found out that there was so much more to it than that. We came to realise that, as incredible as it might seem, these events really happened."
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