Tom Hanks admits he can be rude on set sometimes, despite nice guy reputation

Tom Hanks is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, and also one of the most widely loved by fans. The Forrest Gump star has built a reputation for being one of Hollywood’s nicest guys: his career has been free of scandal and he’s known for his heartwarming interactions with his fans.

But Hanks is human just like anyone else — and in a new interview, he admitted that he can have some less-than-friendly moments on set.

The Toy Story star spoke with BBC while promoting his debut novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, which is based on his own experiences in Hollywood.

The novel, about the making of a multi-million dollar superhero film, involves an egotistical star actor who delays filming with his behavior. While that sounds very much the opposite of Tom Hanks himself, the Oscar-winner admitted that he’s been guilty of some of the same jerky behavior.

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

Despite his reputation as “America’s Dad,” Hanks admits he can’t keep it up 24/7: “Not everybody is at their best every single day on a motion picture set,” he explained. “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.”

But even when Hanks is not at his best, he says he always makes it a top priority to be on time, calling lateness a “cardinal sin” in movie business.

“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,” he told BBC, adding that too many stars try to “get away with it.”

While Hanks claims he’s not always on his best behavior on set, it’s never really shown in his public life — in his decades of stardom, the only time he’s publicly lashed out was when he told some overzealous fans to “back the f–k off,” but even then it was in defense of his wife Rita Wilson who had nearly been knocked over.

And unlike many of his A-list peers, he’s always avoided any scandals or controversies while continuing to deliver great performances. He may have an occasional bad day, but Hanks is still one of Hollywood’s greatest nice guys.