Hanks to deconstruct ‘Map of Hell’

Actor reprises role of Robert Langdon in film adaption of Dan Brown’s ‘Inferno’

FLORENCE: Tom Hanks reprises the role of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon in the film version of Dan Brown’s thriller Inferno, unlocking more mysterious codes as the world-famous character he describes as “the smartest guy in the room.”

Inferno, which follows on the blockbuster book and film franchise, Brown’s 2003 religious-themed mystery novel The Da Vinci Code, centres on the Divine Comedy, the masterpiece by Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The plot sees Langdon follow a trail of clues about the poet in a race to save the world’s population from a deadly artificial plague.

Principal photography has begun on the film as production gets under way in Italy, with many of the scenes being shot in Florence’s most renowned buildings and piazzas. “I like it because ... there is a degree of mystery and, at the same time, a great amount of predictability that goes along with it,” Hanks said during a photo call for the film in Florence on Monday.

Hanks compared the role of Langdon to playing Sherlock Holmes. “As a selfish actor, I don’t mind playing the smartest guy in the room. I don’t get to play the toughest guy, I don’t get to play the best-looking or ... the tallest, but I do get to play the smartest guy in the room as Robert Langdon.”

The film, which also stars British actor Felicity Jones, is being directed by Ron Howard. Howard previously directed the film adaptations of The Da Vinci Code as well as Brown’s Angels and Demons, which also featured Langdon. Inferno is scheduled for release next year. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2015.

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