Who Tom Hanks wants to see as the next James Bond

Tom Hanks has thrown his support behind Idris Alba to become the next James Bond.

The 66-year-old recently spoke with BBC News to promote his first novel, ‘The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece’.

While discussing the issue of publishing houses editing novels to make them more suitable to modern times, including Ian Fleming’s Bond series, Hanks let his opinion on the matter be known.

“Understand this, James Bond has a license to kill. I would issue that license to Idris Elba just based on the work that I’ve seen him do,” said Hanks.

As for the editing of novels, Hanks added: “I’m of the opinion that we’re all grown-ups here. Let’s have faith in our own sensibilities as opposed to having somebody decide what we may or may not be offended by.

“Let me decide what I am offended by and what I’m not offended by. I would be against reading any book from any era that says ‘abridged due to modern sensitivities.’”

Hanks and his novel

As for his novel, the two-time Oscar winner says he has always written in some form. Back in 2017, he published a collection of short stories called ‘Uncommon Type’.

He says he began writing his novel a year later.

“I wrote in between films, I wrote wherever I was, I wrote on planes, I wrote at home, I wrote on vacation, I wrote in hotel rooms, I wrote on long weekends when I wasn’t working,” said Hanks.

The novel is about the making of a blockbuster super movie. It features several characters, including an eccentric director and a cocky male actor who causes filming to be delayed.

“I have pulled every single one of those moments of behavior myself on a set,” Hanks admitted.

“Not everybody is at their best every single day on a motion picture set,” he continues.

“I’ve had tough days trying to be a professional when my life has been falling apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving - and it’s the last way I feel.”

However, one thing Hanks revealed is that you’ll never catch him arriving late on set.

“What cannot occur on a motion picture is that someone cannot monkey around with the timing or the length of the shoot or the budget,” said Hanks. “That is a cardinal sin in the motion picture business.

“You will be amazed at how many people know that they can get away with it, and are told they can get away with it, because they are carrying the movie on their shoulders.”