Tom Hanks on his role as “Sully” : “To stop a plane like that, it must be an extraordinary man” – Europe1

INTERVIEW

On January 15, 2009, captain Chesley Sullenberger took off with its Airbus A320 airline US Airways from La Guardia airport in New York. After two minutes of flight, the airplane encounters birds, the two reactors caught fire. The commander of his 40-year career decides to make a u-turn to return to the airport, but the altitude is too low. He opted then for a landing and managed to land the aircraft gently on the Hudson river. The 155 passengers are safe.

Sullemberger, aka Sully, is a hero for America but the insurance call his decision in question. Then begins another fight for him. This is the story of this commander played by Tom Hanks in the last film of Clint Eastwood in cinemas on November 30. To present his role of Sully, the actor was the guest of’Sunday movie.

“All of America is watching”. The film simulates the landing and shows how the administration search the detail of the events. “It’s really like a trial against the crew, tells Tom Hanks. Usually, in this kind of auditions after a crash, the pilot and co-pilot are dead. The litany of questions (when have you seen birds ? Is seen had drank ?, etc) cannot be asked.” For the real Sully, this interrogation lasted 15 months.

Heard on Europe 1

This is a type of stress that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

To capture all areas of the role, the actor has a lot of time talking with the real driver. “There are two parts to it : the moment where he says he is in an airplane piloted in confusion, where the motors stop, where his body is propelled forward, blocked by the harness. The head full of blood, he knows that he need to think about, to do something. And then, there was this man who must deal with post-traumatic symptoms. All of America looks at it and takes it to a higher being, knowing that if a person was dead, he would have been responsible. It is a type of stress that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy”, breath of the actor.

“I’ve thought of everything that had been avoided”. When the story took place, Tom Hanks was in Los Angeles. He sees the images on tv. “The first thing I thought of, it is that has seen this plane fly over of New York ? People have seen it, waited for the explosion, waited for the announcement of a new 11-September. Finally, it was one of the greatest days in the history of New York. I immediately thought of everything that had been avoided”, recalls the actor. “To stop a plane like that, it must be an extraordinary man.”