Tom Hanks Eats His Last Meal

I'm Tom Hanks and my

last

meal

would be called Bradford toast with Carrie's sugar-free syrup and double inside and out with a Diet Coke Greek salad with avocado squid and a side of pita with taramaya salad, the taste of the History dish from El Cholo with the Dr Pepper diet and a white chocolate and coconut cake, we all have exactly two things in common, we all have to eat and we are all going to die, Tom Hanks, welcome to the showman who told me not to turn off, but You know it's true. we, we'll do both, yeah, so have you thought about your

last

meal

before I've done it before being trained to be able to combine this?

You know, you probably have the same thing. There are several restaurants. I don't. I know what I would order in them, but there are a couple of places in the world. I think if I was only staying one day, where would I have dinner the night before? So you would rather go to a restaurant that you would like. your own life your last experience at the hands of the chef and just say how to kill me, go ahead uh have you contemplated your own death a lot and this is a strange question because I have contemplated your death oh great I had a dream?

How was it really terrible because you had covid in March 2020? I'm not sure if you know this, but I mean, I think there was a resonant experience among millions of people that was if this can get Tom Hanks, it can get this. What was it like to receive? I'm sure you received thousands of messages saying Tom Hanks please know that I told the kids first that it was a very important thing that we liked to make public without our four children knowing that a simple text message from Australia would have them made public. let us know you idiot parents you could have done a little better most of the time it's the parent who wants the kid to text you but you guys weren't texting right no no no no we were number one.

I felt horrible and number two, we were greeted as a team with hazmat suits who carded us, put us in a sealed plastic car and took us to a hospital and while we were there we felt pretty bad and I kept saying, what? Are you looking for and well, we're looking for signs of Kobe 19? They said one and what would be that would be your patient zero in my mind, well, you know, and they were saying we're looking to see if, um, your lungs fill up, so we get a lot of x-rays and our temperatures, if they were going to go up or No, you know it's degrees Celsius down there, so I said, well, what's my temperature and they said, well, I smell like you know you're at 37.

I said I have no idea what that means, I'm 37, what that is in gallons, I have no idea and they said okay, okay and three days later they said okay, you can go home but you can't go. anywhere, so we left there and they locked us up for another two weeks and I felt terrible. Did you ever think it was like that? This is the moment. That's how I go out. from the hospital I think I think we'll be fine time for the first course in your final meal we have challah bread french toast now this is a kosher challah from a kosher bakery in Los Angeles we put a pinch of vanilla extract and there's some cinnamon eggs and milk cinnamon interesting a little cinnamon and then we toasted it in butter, ironed it and then covered it with Carrie's sugar-free syrup tell me about your last meal nothing affects you after this oh nothing effects no, I didn't think about that you know you're out of sugar you don't want one last trip I've developed a taste for these things you know what's this really great book I think it's called the sweet and Lola anyway it's about the story of sweet and love but like I had type 2 diabetes, um, I need to do it, but I need to avoid sugar, but I've developed a taste for unsweetened maple, how much, how much, what is this?

I don't think they can leave it, this is a low calorie syrup, okay, but look, here it is. uh um it literally only has two grams of sugar you know what that is that's super low yeah yeah it says oh also please eat. Do you want me? Do you want me to do it? No, here, okay, no, I'm not going to eat this whole plate, please, come, if you want to brown it, I could serve you here, if you want to brown mine, please, well, you know, I just need to. to get a little bit like this and put a little bit of chicken on the side so you can dip it in bumps you can have the I'll save the last one I won't do it.

I've been known to come downstairs at night when I need a sweet tooth and take a spoon and take a little bit of the syrup and just put a little bit in there and oh Tom, your dirty dog ​​tastes like candy to me, so the sweetener aspartame. I should ask you about your life, but I want to be a nerd about the artificial. sweeteners real quick because aspartame was originally developed to be, you know, the adhesive that's on your car's double-sided glass so your head doesn't go through and break, right. Now I know the reason why car windows don't break.

They were trying to do it. I made the adhesive to do that and then somehow the aspartame ended up being a byproduct and they tried it and said wow, this is sweet, we can make Diet Coke with it. I have asked occasional doctors. -The term is not bad, right? Is there anything long-term about artificial sweeteners? You shouldn't eat tons of any single food and that would include these things. So, Tom, you've said that all great stories are about loneliness. I have to understand it. show on the road, that's good, that's good. But I want to talk about the theme of loneliness because, in your new film, a man named Otto, that is a huge theme that is present throughout and you have said that all great stories are ultimately about loneliness and You've also said that loneliness was a big factor in making decisions when you were young.

I think right now we have this global epidemic of loneliness. It is increasing. Japan appointed a minister of loneliness. What do you think is behind that and what do you think? what we do to stop it, let's figure this out, first of all, everyone should sit down and you know what your world should be like. individual tables that you just feel like you're sitting at, chances are if you were alone or there were two of you, there will be a third person there that had nothing to do with it, so you'll get together, one of the things that came. from when we were making a man called Otto that came from the Swedish team that made a man called oova, which was the novelization of the original films and no one is a stranger once you know their story, something happens to us, you know somewhere. between the ages of zero and seven, let's say okay, look, everyone has their right personality, but everyone is exposed to something beyond our personality, you know it's bigger than ourselves and there is some aspect of being able to feel comfortable when you're just listening to that.

It may not be in the comfort zone for a lot of people, but if it is, I think there is an epidemic of loneliness, especially now, in the last 20 years, and it would seem that all these technological tools are at our disposal to be a part of. something bigger than ourselves, yeah, that's a big debate, especially you know, we make a lot of videos on YouTube and social media and on the one hand, we connect people who have similar interests from all over the world and us. I've eliminated that sense of physical place and the need for proximity, but do you think people grossly overestimate how much digital connection is quote-unquote real connection?

I think some people say yes, without a doubt, because it's so cool, I mean, it's kind of a blast, um, this, there's nothing more life-changing than some kind of knock on the door, okay , Tom, for the second course we have a classic Greek salad with squid with avocado, uh, pita and tarama. Salata, that's it. How do you remember? Many Greeks simply call it What is Greek caviar? This is the Greek caviar, you know, that's what they call it and then we also have the double in and out, the marinated feta cheese and then a diet coke, absolutely, the uh, you know, as we call it Better Living Through of American chemicals, I'm just going to take a little bit because, uh, periodically I still like, you know, three or four days of water fasting just to get away from some of the things. feel different yes, actually yes, yes, in good or bad no, no, and again look in the good way, again I'm not, I'm not against, but from time to time you just know, do a little blush like having eaten vegan twice a week is smart at best uh please dig deeper into the very non-vegan thread uh okay let's get right to the topic let's get this out of the way.

Now understand any Greek. restaurant and in fact any Greek housewife, anyone who says I like to cook Greek will be judged by the quality of the Tara masalata there and I can't tell you what good tala masalata is other than to just try it and tell you, maybe the Taramasalato is the friends we made along the way oh I'm just going to first of all good good olive oil there's nothing wrong with it it's great you know this is very Greek and sometimes they show up and it kind of tastes like mayonnaise salty but this is good still is good now you can get it in a jar you can get it incredibly fresh this is very this is a good time okay it means a lot that means a lot okay this is this is something like squid is served in every way possible in a Greek restaurant.

You know, what you're going to do is take a little bit of the tadam and put it in, and do the same thing with the Tzatziki, just dip it. in and and what a world of flavor, man, oh man, that's good and the best thing about Greek salad is about the only way that I really love to eat vegetables. I agree, this is incredibly delicious and I'm very curious about your relationship with Greece because you are an honorary Greek citizen your wife Rita is Greek and you converted to Greek Orthodoxy um when you arrived I didn't have to do it actually you didn't have to do it no because I was baptized in uh in a Christ the King Catholic Church it's because I was baptized there and there was enough connection with the original Orthodoxy.

It is a very easy trait to transfer from Catholicism to Orthodox. Yes, they will accept anyone you meet, as long as you are honest. So if I just go for the Dharma, they probably love you, oh great. I'm on it, no, they love you. Good Mazel Tov. I'm more loved by a particularly Greek mother because I married a Greek, you know? That is, I am even better than them, no, they are lazy sons. No, lie, the Mediterranean diet that you can eat anywhere, from Lisbon and Portugal to Morocco, on the other side, you know, that diet based on incredibly fresh vegetables, fish and lots of protein, you might live forever.

In fact, I'm going to try to take, uh, try this. My theory is all Diet Coke because that alone will take another sip of my American Kim. I think all preservatives will preserve your life. inside and I think they will never fail because of that, where do you find yourself with caffeine? Oh, I consume too much and my doctor told me I have to stop. I try it and there's a reason it's a legal addictive stimulant because it's fantastic and we need it. I'd rather give up, you know, like peaches, so you know I'll give up on anything, but if any doctor tells me you can't have a cup of coffee in the morning, I thank you very much.

I'm getting it a lot I'm going to have a different doctor I hate you I want to talk about God we're trying this new thing where only he or she comes to join us now that's a big question no I. I'm very curious about your relationship with Greek Orthodoxy because you've said that you believe in God. Yes, this is going around. You said that you do believe in God, but also that you love to reflect on the mystery and why in the church. I think a lot of people look for certainty in religion and in God.

It seems that you are looking at the mystery. I'm not looking for certainty. I'm not looking for answers. I must say yes. I'm more interested in questions than questions. any of the answers would be there was a really reverend guy um believe it or not um he said something that when he said it I said oh that's my thing uh he said miracles are a dime a dozen they happen every day it happens every time someone gets off a plane that flew across the country, says Ah, but the Mysteries are the things we can reflect on for eternity and I believe it.

Why do good things happen to bad people? Why do bad things happen to good people? between well, how do you want to spell, how do you want to spell God, God, do you know what words you can think of to complete that Order of grace Direction How about that Grace? Know? Try to love each other. Give everyone a fair chance. Order. Meaning. Like there's a sense of right and wrong here, folks, we all know it and the direction is like when you wake up in the morning, you're like, okay, what am I going to do? What wrong decision am I going to make today and what is it? the right thing. decision, can I force myself to take some place there?

You'll have, you know, the great, great mystery of life and that's enough for me, so if life is long, hopefully you'll make 51 good decisions against 49 bad ones, so you'll stay ahead of the game, That's good enough for me and that's the meaning of life, that's the official meaning of life for Tom Hanks, it's just a 50. Well, I'm not going to copyright it.Going back to the covid thing, you were the first person I heard give the message of how do your part you live your life as someone who needs to go to heaven that's my reading I mean honestly really really it's like everything you do if you don't you're sure about heaven if you're not sure about what happens when you die, which really drives you not to get uh, you know, too philosophical, but here's the thing, do it, man, this is a place when I was growing up and I was moving, we were moving a lot at that time.

I was in fifth grade, I lived in like 10 houses in different places, I went to four or five different schools and I was always excited to be somewhere new or go to the New School, my brothers not so much, so they were a little shy or not So outgoing, but it seemed to me that there was always some kind of interesting circus that was somewhere close to where we lived. I was born in '56. So I was, you know, where I was. He was a human being with a social conscience. in 1961, 1962. And if you think about it, that was only 20 years after World War II and they talked about not only that everyone made references to the war, but they talked about the common purpose of what happened there, that there was There was a common sacrifice, there were sayings like hey friend, don't you know there is a war? uh and I think that infiltrated me because all of my teachers, all of my dad's friends, any adult had this happen to them essentially when they were teenagers and they left Willows California we're somewhere in the South Seas like My father was, you know and I don't know, I think that just spread, uh, you know, the social thing um and uh, what is that?

You know, the social studies aspects of going to school is that, um, it's relatively easy to follow the rules and if you follow the rules you know life is a little better now, you're also talking to a white kid and a white neighborhood. , You know? Even in a city like Oakland I went to a school where there are so many things about American history that they don't teach us, you know, that we didn't know. I grew up in an incredibly, incredibly, very, very, very, very vibrant world. time and I was so young I didn't have to do it.

He couldn't be drafted to go to the Vietnam War. Do you think any of that is like survivor's guilt for people who didn't have the level of success that you had? maybe it didn't come out because it seems like you're not giving yourself much credit for knowing that when you're young it's like you're growing up in a combination of a William Saroyan novel and The Catcher in the Rye, you're in a mix. of things and what is really your main place of Solace, it will be some form of your family and I must tell you that my brothers were very funny, my father was distant but oblivious to all the Things that I needed to ignore, yes, tell me about the importance of family because a man called Otto, the movie, which is the last stop of his past story, and me and everyone, come on, don't give it, those things are long. talk about a man named Otto in this game, excuse me, I'm going to be here just a little longer knowing that this is my stop, this is the end.

I want to talk about the topic of family because obviously you've talked about how this is the family business, it's about storytelling, if you owned a plumbing supply company, what's the difference and in this movie, I mean, Truman played your younger self, um, Rita did this, she was the producer, he was a producer on the set and she. I recorded closing time and even one of my favorite moments, Mike Birbiglia pulls up in the car and leaves for his white boy summer. It was incredible. I shot up in my seat when I heard you know when I, uh, when I was on top. school play, my father, who was in the restaurant business and also taught food preparation in hotels and restaurants, had no idea what childhood was like, he could get up and do something like that because it really was, you know, a super closed off guy, not super closed off, he was just shy and withdrawn and oblivious to a lot of things eh, he was the kind of person who would sit there and laugh at all of us, just laugh at what we did, say and carry on with my four children. all creative in one way or another my daughter is a writer Colin is an actor Chet is a renaissance man, he does a little bit of everything and sitting with my family at a table is the best conversation I could ever have because everyone is opinionated, everyone is opinionated.

It's funny how everyone fights, you know, just the right amount of time, almost all men end up with just the right amount of time that I have. I have one last question, Tom, you've created your own piece of paradise on Earth, I mean, to me, it seems. I mean, it's easy to say it from the outside looking in, but you can have your taku, okay, you have this beautiful family, an incredible career, you won all the awards, including a Cleveland Shakespeare Award, in gosh, yeah, yeah, You know, 1978, I think, but period. I mean, you shouldn't want anything, I'm sure you do, that gives you comfort about death, like when it's time to die, you paint the pipe or whatever.

Is there a difference between someone who has lived a full and unfulfilled life. I think it's a waste of time and I've never been there. I know, never. I know people had sat down and had long philosophical discussions about it and I said, guys, I'm in the bottom nine here, why waste time trying to think about what this is? We'll find out, you know, we'll get to the bottom of this. The only thing that has absolutely nothing ecumenical about it is. There's no empirical data, you know, the science to back it up is what happens when we move on to the next thing and I don't waste a minute thinking about what that is or fearing what that will be.

I won't waste any minutes. more of your minutes um, but I'll tell you, I mean a man named Otto, he deals with a lot of topics of death that meant a lot to me, he was this close to crying, Tom, the tears are building, everyone around me was crying. Not crying, it's okay, it's okay for people to cry, but I wasn't doing it, but I got really close. One of the things we've said about the movie is that you know, because Otto doesn't want to, he wants to join his wife. He doesn't want to go on, but one thing someone said yes, but God said no, he said oh, that's what you got, so God says no, you know, God says no, sometimes, what are you going to do? ?

So a man named Otto is part of The Passion of the Christ Cinematic Universe this is the third installment it's like Hobbs and Shah in The Fast and the Furious is what it is it's about a good heart to heart conversation in the graveyard with someone What do you love Tom, are you ready for lightning? We got home after a long time, okay, except me, and I'll say besides reading it too because that's the easy answer, who's the one person you'd like to share your last meal with John Lennon, who John Lennon never heard of? Oh, the Soviet leader, yes, no, no, from The Beatles.

Who is your dream funeral eulogist? Oh man, what's wrong with Oprah? What about that? What's wrong with Oprah? Can't you go wrong? Who plays you in the biopic? None because I don't think anyone can compare to the man himself That's what happens That's what happens That's called confidence What is the role you least want to be remembered for? Each of these films is made with the utmost faith. It is conceivable that they are all black and that they are all working very hard to criticize any of them is to insult the community effort we all put in.

I didn't even write this. I didn't even write it. I'll give you this I'll give you this I'll give you this uh vomit throw the circular for me on The Love Boat my head I made a love boat in June 1980. you can keep that one, okay? I grant you that I remember the boy's name. Do you have any regrets in life? Not a single hell, yeah, are you happy? Oh, I'm glad, how about that? I think that's the best you can hope for, that's happiness, man. it comes and goes this too will pass happiness satisfaction can stay for a while that's beautiful Tom I can't thank you that's the lightning no that's the waiting round you wait wow what is the square mileage of Madagascar what is the square mileage of Madagascar how far it's from Winnipeg to Montreal Tom if you can say your last words directly into that camera we'll be right back so anyway what's interesting yeah stop falling check out Mytical.com for lava travel mode the new apartments, perfect for everyone. your favorite liquids and hot lava temperatures