20 Things You Didn't Know About Forrest Gump

11. Tom Hanks Initially Wanted To Tone Down The Southern Accent

Tom Hanks was immediately enthusiastic about Forrest Gump after reading the script, though had some concerns about how he was actually going to play the part, namely his accent.

Both the script and the source novel called for Forrest to have a thick, distinctive Southern drawl as seen in the final movie, but Hanks initially asked Zemeckis if he could scale the accent back somewhat.

However, the director convinced Hanks to play the part as written, with the actor ultimately studying the voice of his young counterpart, Michael Conner Humphreys, who spoke with a Southern accent in real life.

Accents can be a tough nut to crack, and it's especially tricky producing a Southern one without coming across like a rootin' tootin' stereotype, so to say that Hanks did a wonderful job with it is quite the understatement.