Tom Hanks … guys, he’s just the best. He’s the literal best, and we sincerely mean that, and you know it’s true. He’s amazing, and he’s been amazing for as long as anyone can remember, and now we have such glorious proof of that in this letter that Tom wrote, way back when he was just 18 years old, to director George Roy Hill. He wanted to be a star, and here’s his delightful pitch:
Dear Mr. Hill, Seeing that … I have seen your fantastically entertaining and award-winning film The Sting, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and enjoyed it very much, it is all together fitting and proper that you should ‘discover’ me. Now, right away I know what you are thinking (“who is this kid?”), and I can understand your apprehensions. I am a nobody … My looks are not stunning. I am not built like a Greek God, and I can’t even grow a mustache, but I figure if people will pay to see certain films … they will pay to see me. Let’s work out the details of my discovery. We can do it the way Lana Turner was discovered, me sitting on a soda shop stool, you walk in and notice me and – BANGO – I am a star. Or maybe we can do it this way. I stumble into your office one day and beg for a job. To get rid of me, you give me a stand-in part in your next film. While shooting the film, the star breaks his leg in the dressing room, and, because you are behind schedule already, you arbitrarily place me in his part and – BANGO – I am a star. All of these plans are fine with me, or we could do it any way you would like, it makes no difference to me! But let’s get one thing straight. Mr. Hill, I do not want to be some bigtime, Hollywood superstar with girls crawling all over me, just a hometown American boy who has hit the big-time, owns a Porsche, and calls Robert Redford ‘Bob.’
Well, Tom Hanks of the past, congratulations. You did it. Maybe not in the ways you described in your letter (that’s so charming it hurts, by the way), but you made it. And we are all so very thankful for that fact.