The Big Picture

• As Chuck in Cast Away, Tom Hanks went through immense physical and psychological torment, just like his character.
• Hanks was actually in danger during the filming of Cast Away when he received a severe leg injury that nearly took his life.
• Cast Away showcased Hanks' brilliance as an actor and solidified his reputation as a great producer in the industry.

Tom Hanks has one of the most impressive career trajectories of any leading man of his generation. While Hanks first introduced himself to worldwide audiences thanks to his comedic performances in classic slapstick films like Splash and Bachelor Party, he quickly proved to be a far more versatile performer than anyone may have expected. Hanks might've won two consecutive Academy Awards for his deeply moving dramatic performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, but his physically demanding role in Robert Zemeckis’ gripping survival film Cast Away remains one of the most impressive of his entire career. Similar to how his character goes through immense physical and psychological torment throughout the film, Hanks’ life was actually in danger during the production of Cast Away.

What Is Robert Zemeckis' ‘Cast Away’ About?

Cast Away follows the FedEx systems management employee Chuck Noland (Hanks), who frequently travels the world to fix software issues for satellite companies. While Chuck is well-equipped to do his job and has gotten used to traveling extreme lengths, he’s looking to settle down with his girlfriend, Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt), so that they can start a family. After a Christmas Eve dinner is interrupted by an emergency call from Malaysia, Chuck is forced to leave to settle the issue. Cast Away imagines the ultimate nightmare situation of being lost without hope of rescue. After Chuck’s plane crash lands on an enigmatic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he must take extreme measures to survive.

While the plane crash sequence itself is utterly terrifying, Cast Away's real horror is the dehumanizing effect of isolationism in a region removed from social infrastructure. After spending months without having contact with any other people, Chuck’s cognition begins to decline, forcing him to communicate with inanimate objects in order to speak his mind and remain sane. In one of the film’s most fascinating developments, Chuck begins speaking to a volleyball he names “Wilson.” The surprisingly emotional relationship Chuck forms with Wilson shows how being starved of socialization can induce madness. The thoughtful analysis of loneliness makes Cast Away even more psychologically interesting.

While the masterful screenplay by Apollo 13 screenwriter William Broyles Jr. does a great job at establishing Chuck as a character, it was Hanks’ performance that turned Cast Away into a modern classic. Tom Hanks proved his skills as a dramatic actor with several brilliant performances, but this time, he had to keep the audience engaged in a story where he was the only actor on screen for the majority of the project. He also underwent a physical transformation that dramatically changed his physique so that the physical side effects of Chuck’s isolation would be evident. While the material called for an intense amount of commitment to the role, Hanks pulled it off in one of his greatest roles to date.

‘Cast Away’ Was Incredibly Dangerous for Tom Hanks

It was during the filming of early scenes where Chuck is scoping out the parameters of his unexpected new home that Hanks received a severe cut on his leg that sent him to the hospital. He was forced to take a three-day break from filming so that he could be rushed to a hospital and receive treatment. Though he assumed that the cut was merely a sore, he revealed that the poison that had infected his leg nearly claimed his life. It was certainly an illuminating experience for Hanks, who also served as Cast Away’s producer.

Cast Away’s production was completed in an unusual way, as Zemeckis wanted to give Hanks the freedom to fully immerse himself in the character. The film was not shot chronologically and Zemeckis even took a brief break from the production to shoot the supernatural psychological thriller What Lies Beneath with Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. During the gap in filming, Hanks was able to lose weight and grow out his beard so that the depletion of Chuck’s health would feel more realistic. While makeup and visual effects certainly could have been applied to make these visual changes, the film succeeded thanks to Hanks’ willingness to commit to the physicality of the role.

It certainly did not make for an easy production, but Cast Away is remembered as one of the best films of both Hanks and Zemeckis’ careers. Hanks received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance, and the film’s impressive audio design earned it a nomination for Best Sound. It represented one of the last instances in which Zemeckis truly found a way to connect with audiences. While he would begin experimenting with CGI technology and animation in the subsequent decade, the practical filmmaking techniques Zemeckis utilized in Cast Away signify how inventive of an artist he is.

‘Cast Away’ Shows Off Tom Hanks' Brilliance

While he subsequently starred in some of the most acclaimed films of the 21st century, Hanks never got another role like Chuck from Cast Away. The film was uniquely suited to his talents, as he was able to use much of the physical mannerism he had epitomized within his early comedy work to a more dramatic effect. Cast Away could have easily been a grueling slog that did nothing but highlight Chuck’s misery, but Hanks turned it into an inspirational story about the triumph of the human spirit. It’s a testament to his strong dramatic abilities that the final moments between Chuck and Kelly are as heartbreaking as they are.

In addition to giving a brilliant performance, Cast Away solidified Hanks as one of the industry's greatest producers. Hanks has produced films that he starred in himself and worked alongside his longtime collaborator Steven Spielberg to produce the HBO World War II epic Band of Brothers and its follow-up, The Pacific. Both in front of and behind the screen, Hanks is one of the most hardworking artists in the industry.

Cast Away is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

Rent on Prime Video