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Tom Hanks found fame by starring in Steven Spielberg’s 1998 filmSaving Private Ryanwhich starred him alongside Matt Damon and an ensemble cast of other actors. The film grew in popularity as multiple war veterans talked about the realistic portrayal of war that the movie forced its audiences to go through.
Following the 1998 project, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg reunited for the iconic American drama miniseriesBand of Brothers.With Hanks set as the director of one episode, the actor fired a cast member from the show only to return to his podcast 20 years later!
Tom Hanks Fired An Actor For Having Dead Eyes!
Band of Brothers,a miniseries that aired in 2001 received critical acclaim and fame despite only having 1 season to its name. Starring several big names in Hollywood in the series like Tom Hanks, Michael Fassbender, and, David Schwimmer, the series became one of the highest-rated series on IMDB.
In an episode, the auditions for the character of Private Zielinski were ongoing when actor Connor Ratliff decided to try out his luck. Fresh out of acting school, Ratliff didn’t mind that the role was a minor one but he was just excited to work with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. After auditioning, Ratliff got a call from his agent.
Also read:“I would have done that”: Tom Hanks Missed His Star Wars Cameo in One of the Best Films from the Franchise That Was Set Up for Failure
As perThe Telegraph,the agent said to Ratliff“You have to get on a train to London right away! Tom Hanks has seen your audition tape and he’s having second thoughts. He thinks you have dead eyes”. ‘Dead eyes’ is a term associated with people having soulless eyes or not having any interest in their surroundings. When Ratliff auditioned in front ofTom Hanks, the actor thanked him for coming and asked him to step outside for a few minutes.
As the minutes passed by, Ratliff got the bad news that they had fired him because of his alleged ‘dead eyes’. Being disheartened, Ratliff left the world of acting for quite a while when he discovered improv comedy. Following the years, the dejected actor started his own podcast in 2020 titledDead Eyes.
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Tom Hanks Met Connor Ratliff On His Podcast 20 Years Later!
Related:“It was eating its way through my leg”: Tom Hanks Almost Lost His Life Due to Extreme Method Acting That Made Him Delirious at One Point
Yes, the podcast was just made for Ratliff asking answers to the question as to why he was fired. During the course of the podcast, several actors also shared their ‘dead eyes’ stories and how everyone had gone through one.
In 2022,Dead Eyesreleased a90-minute showthat had Tom Hanks in it. Ratliff asked Hanks 20 years later whether he actually said Ratliff had dead eyes and Hanks admitted that he probably did but defended his statement by saying“It’s been said about me.”Following the podcast, Ratliff has starred in some roles in movies likeMean Girls(2024) and is also attached to two other projects.
The iconic American drama miniseries that rejected Connor Ratliff from a role is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
Visarg Acharya
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3262
Visarg Acharya is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 3000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past three years and a copywriter at a corporation. Visarg usually covers news and theories on the MCU and the DCU, with an emphasis on Avengers and Superman; Game of Thrones, and more.A Tarantino fan, Visarg, spends his time critiquing various directors’ filmographies and watching them with curiosity. Medieval fantasy like The Lord of the Rings or sci-fi movies like Interstellar, watching the latest horror movies, and listening to Hans Zimmer become his comfort zone. When idle, he can be found reading fantasy novels with a terrible cup of coffee in hand.
