10 Actors Whose Brilliant Moment Of Improvisation Landed Them The Role

If you didn't know by now, Tom Hanks is one of the nicest men in show business and anyone who has ever worked with the multi-Academy Award winning actor would happily subscribe to that statement.

So, when faced with a child actor who was quite clearly nervous about the thought of being filmed opposite the star of 1993's Philadelphia, what did Hanks do?

He used his nous for screen acting, combined with his own empathy and understanding of the character he was auditioning for, Forrest Gump, to ease the young Hayley Joel Osment into feeling comfortable enough to showcase the eventual father and son duo's beautiful chemistry on camera.

By inviting Osment to talk openly about his love of cartoons and even guiding him into bringing his eyes up for the camera - directing him to the man behind the lense making animal shapes with his hands - Hanks managed to portray (through improvisation) an astounding degree of genuine affection towards his newly acquainted son.

The fact that he managed to stay true to the character he was being seen for, whilst never losing sight of the need to ensure his co-star had the platform to give a confident show of himself, only hammered home just how perfect Hanks was for the role of the overwhelmingly selfless Gump.