Tom Hanks defends casting his son in new movie ‘A Man Called Otto’: ‘This is a family business’

As the conversation of nepotism within Hollywood grows more popular, Hollywood star Tom Hanks is offering his insight on familial-favoring, and what role it played in giving his son a part in his new movie, “A Man Called Otto.”

“The thing that doesn’t change no matter what happens – no matter who, what your last name is – is whether it works or not… That’s the issue any time any of us go off and try to tell a fresh story or create something that is, has a beginning, a middle or an end. Doesn’t matter what our last names are,” he told The Sun.

The new movie, which stars Hanks as Otto Anderson, is produced by Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson. Their son Truman plays a young Otto.

“We have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience. And that’s a much bigger task than worrying about whether anybody is going to like… try to scathe us or not,” he added.

Tom Hanks explained that all of his children are "creative" and the industry is a "family business."
(Karwai Tang/WireImage)

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“Look, this is a family business,” Hanks stated. 

“This is what we’ve been doing forever, it’s what all of our kids grew up in. We have four kids, they’re all very creative,” he said of the two children he shares with Wilson, Chet and Truman, as well as his son Colin and daughter Elizabeth Ann from his first marriage to Samantha Lewes.

Truman is the youngest son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.
(Pablo Cuadra/FilmMagic)

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“They are all involved in some brand of storytelling,” Hanks added of his children. 

“If we were a plumbing supply business, or if we ran you know, the floral shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just inventory at the end of the year.”

Hanks has worked on multiple occasions with his eldest son Colin, however this will be the first project he’s done with Truman. 

This will be the first role in front of the camera for Truman Hanks, who has worked behind the scenes on other films.
(Borja B. Hojas/WireImage)

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Hanks said he was intrigued by the role of Otto, partially because of his personality.

“I know how exactly to be not just cranky but also, always correct. If there’s anybody in this movie who is right 100% time… it’s Otto. And I like playing the guy who’s always right,” Hanks said of his character.