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Though Tom Hanks has a deep appreciation for certain science fiction classics, it’s a genre he’s rarely explored in his acting career. However, he has taken on a few sci-fi roles, such as in “Cloud Atlas” and “Asteroid City.” Most notably, in 2021, he captivated audiences with his performance in the Apple TV+ original “Finch.” In this film, Hanks portrays the character Finch, one of the last humans in a post-apocalyptic world, who embarks on a heartfelt mission to teach a robot named Jeff (voiced by Caleb Landry Jones) how to care for his beloved dog in his absence.
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“Finch” was among several of Hanks’s projects, including “Pinocchio” and “Greyhound,” that experienced delays due to the pandemic, with plans for traditional cinema releases shifting to streaming platforms instead. While some critics viewed “Finch” as a typical post-apocalyptic narrative, they praised Hanks’s engaging performance, which brought warmth and depth to the story. The film’s innovative visual effects, particularly the animation of Jeff, won acclaim, earning a Visual Effects Society Award for outstanding animated character in a photoreal feature.
With Hanks spending the entirety of “Finch” without human interaction, comparisons to “Cast Away” were inevitable, becoming a popular topic during his promotional interviews for “Finch.” Although Hanks holds “Cast Away” in high regard, considering it one of his finest works, he was quick to dismiss any parallels between the two films.
In an interview with SyFy, Hanks highlighted the distinct differences in the characters’ situations. In “Cast Away,” Chuck Noland is motivated by the hope of returning to a world bustling with life, whereas Finch grapples with a far bleaker reality. Hanks elaborated, “There’s a different philosophical approach in trying to discover what’s out there versus trying to return to something you know exists.”
Hanks dismisses comparisons between Finch and Cast Away
Apple TV+
During a press roundtable for “Finch” (reported by Collider), Hanks further differentiated the journeys of Finch and Chuck Noland, stating, “[‘Cast Away’] represents the best thing that ever happened to this man. Surviving a plane crash and living on an island for years led to a life he could never have envisioned. That’s not the narrative of ‘Finch.’ For Finch, nothing remarkable happens. His days are numbered.”
Discussing the topic with SyFy, Hanks said that the crucial difference is that his characters in each movie are in very different places. While “Cast Away’s” Chuck Noland knows that there is a world full of people to get back to, Finch faces a far less optimistic reality. “I think there’s just a different philosophical bent on trying to discover what is out, as opposed to trying to get back to a thing that you know is there,” he explained.
Meanwhile, in a press round table for “Finch” (via Collider), Hanks further contrasted Finch and Chuck Noland’s experiences, stating, “[‘Cast Away’] is about the best thing that ever happened to this man. He was in a plane crash and lived on an island for four years, and from that came this life that he never would have imagined that he’d have. That’s not the theme of ‘Finch.’ Nothing great happened to Finch. His time is limited.”
