"You’re just dying to see them fall down"- When Tom Hanks made his feelings clear about modern celebrity culture

Tom Hanks is one of the true veterans of Hollywood, having been around for a long time and having achieved almost everything an actor dreams of achieving. Over this decades-long career, the actor has also seen many changes that have resonated with him, including the way celebrities are portrayed.

Tom Hanks has seen a tremendous evolution in his career as things progressed, but the changes were also in the outside world. The actor gave a very interesting take on what used to be the defining celebrity thing and what is the defining celebrity image now, providing a fair contrast of how so many things about the celebrity culture have evolved.

In a discussion with Interview Magazine in 2016, Hanks opened up to Ingrid Sischy about what glamor meant to him, and in this discussion, he pointed out earlier examples of stardom, like The Beatles, but also drew a contrast to how celebrities have slowly become a kind of public property for fans. Speaking about treating movie stars like public property, Tom Hanks said:

"I think part of the reason is that there are a lot of channels on TV, so the search for product is ongoing. And a very easy product is talking about who is out there right now. There’s an entire channel that’s just dedicated to who showed up where, which is fine, but the fact that it’s on TV magnifies the content and iconography of being a movie star."

He continued:

"According to most of the media, what does it mean today? It means limousines, it means autographs, it means sunglasses, and it means incognito vacations and bodyguards and houses with gates. After that, what’s fun about the icon? You have to find out the chinks and faults that make them absolutely normal. With some people, you’re just dying to see them fall down, you’re just dying to see some sort of crack."

He continued to expand on this in the same interview and even pointed out how media and public continue to be too actively involved in making or breaking a star.

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"The only way you can truly control how you’re seen is by being constantly honest all the time"- Tom Hanks on the nearly impossible possibility of escaping the media noise

It is quite true in today's world that viewers, media, or news can indeed make or break someone's career. This influence has grown over the years, and now seems to be at an all-time peak with the influence of social media. But even before this, TV channels and media have been a big part in the particular narratives of particular people.

While discussing this topic, Tom Hanks further elaborated on this:

"Some are built up and turned into bigger movie stars, and with others there are people who just want to see what’s wrong with them. A lot of it’s what makes for good copy at the time....That sort of attention is something that is not warranted, but it’s there. There’s nothing you can do about it. You cannot control your own spin. You cannot foment what your image is going to be."

He added:

"The only way you can truly control how you’re seen is by being constantly honest all the time. But now, if you’re going to be totally honest all the time, does that mean that you have to throw out your family dysfunctions every time you appear on the Oprah Winfrey show?"

In this interview, Tom Hanks raised some valid points that would make anyone wonder about the culture that has been instilled in the past few decades. But this is the unfortunate reality that exists, and many celebrities have to deal with this on a daily basis.

Tom Hanks has existed in both eras and still manages to remain one of the most popular and talented actors around.

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Tom Hanks will soon be seen in Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme and in Toy Story 5, where he will reprise his familiar role.