Hanks on 'Terrifying' 'Phillips' Kidnapping Scene
Even though he was familiar with the arc of Captain Phillips, having read the script and researched the real event about which the film was based, Tom Hanks was nonetheless alarmed when it came time for him to film the scene during which the pirates take control of the ship.
In ETonline's exclusive clip from The Los Angeles Times' The Envelope Screening Series Q&A in association with EPIX, Hanks, who plays the role of the titular character in Captain Phillips, talks about filming the movie's turning point, when Somali pirates board the container ship and take Hanks' character and his crew hostage.
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As they filmed the scene, Hanks had a general sense of what to expect, but director Paul Greengrass never allowed Hanks and the actors who played the pirates to meet prior to the scene in an attempt to capture a more sincere display of emotion from those on the ship.
According to Hanks' account, it worked.
"It was very loud and there were explosions going on and Barkhad [Abdi] and three of the other skinniest, scariest human beings on the planet came on," Hanks recalls. "It did raise the hair on the back of our necks. It was terrifying; they did not look like nice guys."
Although Greengrass had mapped out the division of the two parties, no one was originally informed that they wouldn't be introduced to each other until that scene. However, they soon caught on to his ploy.
"A few others of us who were aboard the ship who were the crew of the Maersk Alabama figured it out [a] couple weeks in," Hanks said. "It was like, 'I don't think we're going to meet those guys. We haven't seen them at the hotel. We haven't a party where it's like, 'Hey, good to meet you; looking forward to you beating the s**t out of me!'"
Once they finished the scene, however, Hanks had a chance to finally interact with and get to know his co-stars.
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"We had to do it three or four times in that way without ever getting to the point of 'Alright, now we're going to move on to the next shot,' and when that happened, it was kind of like, 'Hey man, good to work with you! How are you? You from Minneapolis, really? Wow! It's cold up there, ain't it?'" Hanks joked.
Check out the exclusive clip above, and click here for more info on The Los Angeles Times' The Envelope Screening Series in association with EPIX.