
At the beginning of 2020, Tom Hanks received the Golden Globes Cecil B. deMille Award. The person who presented Hanks with this honor: his friend Charlize Theron.
“Tom gave me one of my first roles when he directed ‘That Thing You Do!’ I remember my audition. After my first read, I thought I completely blew it. I didn’t know where I was or who I was. And I had somehow forgotten to breathe. And Tom just kindly looked at me, took a beat and said, ‘I’m so sorry Charlize, do you mind just giving me five minutes? I have to step out. I’ll be right back and we’ll do that scene again.’
Tom didn’t need five minutes. I needed five minutes. Those five minutes were a gift to me because he saw a nervous, sweaty young actress failing to mask a panic attack in a thick South African accent. That’s the kind of man he is. This is why we love Tom.”
Hanks then delivered an emotional speech (while fighting-off a cold). A month later, he and Theron were sitting in the front row of the Dolby Theatre at the Oscars. Hanks was nominated for “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”. Theron was nominated for “Bombshell”. The next month: Hanks became one of the first major celebrities to fight and beat COVID-19.
Now he and Theron are facing-off for at-home eyeballs with the digital releases of their new movies beginning next Friday July 10th. Hanks stars in the WWII NAVY action drama “Greyhound” available on AppleTV+. I’ve screened it (review coming Monday). Theron stars in the action/thriller “The Old Guard” on Netflix.
Two good friends, and two of the biggest stars in the industry, face-off thanks to… not a box office battle… but a streaming showdown, which is becoming “the new normal”.