Tom Hanks shares the 'best' advice an angry director told him, and it applies to everyone

He took it to heart, and it changed his life and career.

Tom Hanks, 68, has had an incredible career as an actor, playing lead roles in iconic films such as Forest Gump, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and Sleepless in Seattle. He also has remarkable longevity in the business, having been on the A-list for the last 40-plus years. He picked up one of the secrets to his success at age 21 when a frustrated director shared some practical wisdom he'd never forget.

Hanks shared his advice on June 15, 2023, during “An Evening with Tom Hanks,” in London, hosted by fellow actor Richard E. Grant (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Gosford Park). As a young man, Hanks worked for a repertory theater, doing background roles and working as an understudy on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shew, when the lead actors came to rehearsal hungover and didn’t know their lines. This angered the director, who demanded they come to work like professionals.

Man transforms 'Phantom' and 'Les Mis' hits into acoustic folk songs, much to everyone's joy

It's weird how well this works.

We've seen a lot of musical mashups and genre-bending performances over the years, and just when it seems we may have seen it all, someone comes up with something fresh and surprising. We saw it with Irish brothers step dancing to Beyonce's country hit. We saw it with an Indian-Scottish wedding march. We've seen it with a South African musician's beats combined with cat's meows, yowls, and growls.

And now we're seeing it with musical theater and acoustic folk music. Musician C. Scott asked what would happen if Phantom of the Opera were sung by a folk singer, and then proceeded to show us in the most down home, sitting-on-the-porch-at-sunset way. And, in the most delightfully weird way, it works.

Wife eats last meal her husband made before his death in emotional video

"I'll forever miss his cooking 😭"

Losing someone you love never gets easier, and the grief process comes in waves. One way TikToker Sabrina (@sabfortony) got to honor her husband Tony's memory was by eating the last meal he cooked for her the day he died.

Sabrina shared the emotional video with her followers on TikTok. "I’ll forever miss Tony’s cooking," she captioned the video, adding, "Let's eat my late husband's last meal together."

Mom swaps out her baby's modern cartoons for 90s classics and the results were fascinating

The biggest surprise? His sleep improved.

Nobody needs convincing that the cartoons of yesteryear just hit different. They are miles away from the noisy, uber colorful, fast-paced (read: overstimulating) shows that a kid might watch today. And, it turns out, that they might just be superior for getting kids to actually relax.

This was a discovery made by one mom (Lauren, aka @mamasandmesses) when she introduced her toddler to old school shows like Bear and the Big Blue House, Arthur, Dragon Tales, and more. Her grand experiment led to some pretty fascinating results.