When life wasn’t a bed of roses

Parents’ divorce took its toll on actor Tom Hanks during his formative years.

LOS ANGELES: Looking back at his parents’ divorce when he was just five years old, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks shared he was devastated.  In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s show Desert Island Discs, the Forrest Gump star described how lonely he was as a child.

Hanks fell silent after presenter Kirsty Young asked him about his parent’s divorce. As he regained his composure, he said to Young, “What have you done to me?” During the interview, the 59-year-old Oscar winner revealed how he and his two siblings were brought up by their father Amos, who went on to marry twice again. By the age of 10, Hanks had lived in 10 homes in five different cities.

“The divorce was more about complexity than crossfire. I never came across anybody that was abusive or angry to the point that they took it out on us. We were confused because no one ever explained anything to us,” added Hanks. “No one said, ‘Hey listen, you guys are great. You haven’t done anything wrong. Give us a couple of moments and we will figure out what we are going to do’. Nobody ever said that to us.”

However, Hanks revealed his passion for acting and the kick-start of his career was the turning point in his life. Today, Hanks considers himself in a great place and shared he only got into the movie-making business because he wanted to have fun. “I’m at a fabulous place. Some people are in show business for twisted reasons like power and because money is good. But, I did it because it was fun.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2016.

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