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Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Russell Crowe - these leading men. These are the ones I grew up with. And Hugh Jackman. I love everything that these guys are doing. It's kind of been my mission to be an Asian-American version of that.
There are a lot of actors that I really love to watch, actors who I have fun watching - I think Johnny Depp is phenomenal. But I wouldn't want that career as much as I'd like a career like Tom Hanks - he kind of represents the everyman.
Tom Hanks, when you meet him, he's a such a cheerful, open, giving, fun guy. You would imagine this star that's been in our living room for 20-plus years would have this kind of personality, but he's still a beautiful, giving human being.
The part in 'Philadelphia' where I represent the law firm that's firing Tom Hanks, that was a hard part for me because I lost one of my best friends to AIDS, and it was hard for me to play a part that wasn't sympathetic to someone with AIDS.
I think Paul Newman had an amazing career. I also love what Tom Hanks has done. He has always made very grounded movies that have something to say. He has found a way to make blockbusters that are about something and that is what I want to do.
For actors, when you first get the project and you see that it's a Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman-produced project, right away, from an acting standpoint, you go, 'Wow. That'd be great to be part of that. What a career move that'd be.'
In America, celebrities who go to see your show will come backstage and introduce themselves. Meeting Annette Bening and Ethan Hawke that way was amazing, but when Tom Hanks came, it was really special - I've loved him since I first saw him in 'Big!'
'In Search of Excellence' - even the title - is a reminder that business isn't dry, dreary, boring, or by the numbers. Life at work can be cool - and work that's cool isn't confined to Tiger Woods, Yo-Yo Ma, or Tom Hanks. It's available to all of us and any of us.
My heroes are guys like Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon. These are amazing actors with amazing careers that every actor should aspire to. I'm not saying I'm going to get anywhere close. It's not going to be an easy feat. I'm just in awe of their careers.
In this business, you have a hierarchy of stars. Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks - you name 'em, they can play any part they want. Guys like me who are somewhere down in the middle of the pack, that's a different story. I can do things in the theater that I can't do anyplace else.
I didn't even really know who Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were, and my parents kept trying to tell me, 'Noah, what is wrong with you!? This is the biggest actor and director in all of Hollywood!' And then I was like, 'Who cares? Whatever.' I was nine; I didn't know anything.
I'm not an Adonis, that's for damn sure. I've never really thought of myself that way, and it doesn't matter to me. My favorite actors aren't Adonises. Dustin Hoffman is a flawed-looking man; he's amazing to me. Tom Hanks is flawed-looking; people love him. Same with Gene Hackman.
When I was coming up, everybody wanted to be Tom Hanks. There was always Robert De Niro and Al Pacino - they were the heavily dramatic stuff. I always had a foot in both camps. The hardest thing was to resist the advice to be like someone else. It took me a while to figure that out.
To do a movie with someone like Tom Hanks that when you tell your dad, your dad knows who Tom Hanks is - it feels like you're finally giving back to your parents. It's like you've actually done something that they can recognize, and there's something in me that makes them super proud.
I don't know what to say about it except Tom Hanks is a great person, a serious person; he's dissatisfied in a very likeable way, in a very discreet way, and Steven Spielberg is similar in his discretion and drive. But Spielberg is calm. He's this driven filmmaker and visionary. He really is.
I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to represent all the Rogers out there who don't have a seat at the table. People of colour were not at the table, and now I am there, I want to change things.
Somebody once told me I treated my smart phone like Wilson, the volleyball Tom Hanks turns into a friend when he's stranded on a desert island in that movie 'Castaway.' It's an apt comparison: parenting a toddler occasionally feels like being marooned, and your phone is your only connection to the rest of the world.
I had these kind of unrealistic expectations that were fueled by romantic comedies, and it has both helped me and hurt me in many ways. It helped me because, in general, they've made me hopeful. I just figure things will eventually work out for me. But nobody is like any Tom Hanks character. Nobody is Hugh Grant. No one is Meg Ryan!
Everyone always asks me, 'What advice did they give you on set?' but when you work with amazing actors like Anjelica Huston, Winona Ryder and Tom Hanks, the special thing about working with these people is getting to act alongside them. You see the decisions they make and the things they do. You learn from what they do and follow their footsteps.