Tom Hanks at Captain Phillips press conference
Tom Hanks is keeping the method to his emotional acting a secret.
The 'Captain Phillips' star depicts the harrowing ordeal experienced by real life US sea captain Richard Phillips in the new thriller - which centres on the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009 - but he is remaining tight-lipped about how he prepared for the film's dramatic and emotionally taxing conclusion.
He quipped: "That's a secret. I'm not going to give that up. You go to a press conference with the people that run Coca Cola and ask for their secret formula, I'm sure they'd hand it right over to you!
"I like to consider myself some right of creative artist and professional. My job is to get there when the moment comes on the day."
The 57-year-old star was speaking at a press conference ahead of the European premiere of 'Captain Phillips' in London's Leicester Square tonight (09.10.13). The big event will kick off the 57th annual BFI London Film Festival.
Many of the scenes in 'Captain Phillips' were filmed at sea to give the edge-of-your-seat thriller an authentic feel and director Paul Greengrass admits this presented some difficult challenges - such as a seasick crewmember vomiting on the lead actor.
He recalled: "The worst [moment] was actually on the lifeboat. That was a truly horrendous experience. The first day we started shooting, Tom was in there with the four guys playing the pirates and Barry Ackroyd, the [director of photography] and focus puller, and [assistant director] Chris Carreras. I was in a little boat next door with a walkie talkie and I said to Chris, 'What's going on?' He said, 'Focus puller's not looking so good.' I said, 'I don't care, just shoot.' And he said, 'Focus puller's just thrown up all over Tom.' "
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