Tom Hanks, Superhero Film Star?

He is arguably the best actor of his generation. His films have made billions at the international box office. And he wants to play a lead role in a superhero film.

Tom Hanks spoke with The Showbiz 411 while promoting Captain Phillips, and the host asked a question submitted by a fan as to why Hanks hasn’t appeared in a superhero blockbuster. The answer appears to be that he just wasn’t asked. If asked, he’s jump on the chance:

They don’t ask me, man. I keep trying. Come on, I can do it. I can do it. Even let me play a bad guy, let me play the bad guy against Batman. I’ll do anything, call me. They’ve never asked. What do I gotta do? God, I want to throw a shield at somebody. I want that. And I don’t want to play the guy in the suit who tells the superheroes what’s going on, I don’t want to be that guy. ‘Well, you know Batman, Captain America, Iron Man, here’s what we’ve discovered,’ I don’t want to be that guy. I want to get in there, I want to play The Flash or something like that. They’ll never give me a chance.

Now, Hanks is known for his sense of humor and often gives flippant answers in interviews. I’ll embed the interview below so you can see for yourself if he’s joking, but I tend to think he’s mostly serious.

To most people, the most obvious reason they could think of as to why Hanks isn’t being called by Marvel or Warners to play a hero is his age. At 57, Hanks would seem to be a little long in the tooth to don the spandex tights. After all, Robert Downey Jr. at 48 is considered ancient. However, it wasn’t long ago that the 59-year-old Bruce Willis was linked to the Fantastic Four reboot, and there was no outrage of his age.

I know currently FOX is skewing younger with the FF reboot, but I think Hanks would make an excellent Reed Richards. In the original comics, Richards was quite a bit older than Sue Storm. As a matter of fact, I think he was her professor. So Hanks could fill that role with ease.

If Hanks wants to be a villain, the path might be a little bit easier. Jeff Bridges was 58 when he played Obadiah Stane in Iron Man, Jack Nicholson was 52 when he played the Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman and 57-year old Bryan Cranston is rumored to be the next Lex Luthor. All Hanks would have to do is find an available franchise in need of a villain (Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange, maybe?) and his dream might come true.

Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors and I feel that it would be a mistake for superhero film producers to not take him up on his offer.

Via Huffington Post