Tom Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor who did the voice and motion-capture for the Conductor, the Hobo, Santa Claus, and Hero Boy's father, the motion-capture for Hero Boy, and the voice for Hero Boy as an adult in the 2004 film, The Polar Express.
Tom Hanks voiced Santa Claus in The Polar Express animation, Alec Baldwin voiced Santa Claus in Rise of the Guardians, and John Goodman was the Santa Claus voice actor in Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Year Without Santa Claus, and It's a Spongebob Christmas.
Tom Hanks is undoubtedly the star of The Polar Express. He plays many of the main characters, including that of the narrator, the conductor, the hobo, Santa Claus, and “Hero Boys' father.
Did Donald Sutherland voice Santa in Polar Express?
But he isn't. One of the film's nearly half-dozen characters voiced by Tom Hanks — here with the pitch of his voice artificially dropped, making him sound sounding strangely like Donald Sutherland — Santa is stiff, boring, and not at all sounding like himself.
The Polar Express | Behind The Scenes with Tom Hanks | Warner Bros. Entertainment
How many voices does Tom Hanks do on Polar Express?
How many roles does Tom Hanks play in The Polar Express? In The Polar Express, Hanks voices seven people: Hero Boy, Hero Boy's father, the Conductor, the ghost on top of the train, the Scrooge puppet, the narrator, and Santa Claus himself. At one point, he nearly played every single role in the movie.
Although Hanks' family religious history was Catholic and Mormon, as an adult he converted to Greek Orthodox Christianity after his marriage to Rita Wilson.
How much did Tom Hanks get paid for The Polar Express?
You won't believe how much Hanks made for his Polar Express roles (he voiced seven characters, to be exact). According to the Los Angeles Times, the actor and producer made a $40 million salary plus 20% of the first-dollar gross, which adds up to an estimated $100 million total.
How did Tom Hanks do the kids voice in Polar Express?
Since the character is a kid, Tom Hanks couldn't do all the motion capture work by himself. Josh Hutcherson, who was a child at the time, did the motion capture work that Tom Hanks couldn't. The character's child-voice is that of Daryl Sabara who had acted in Spy Kids a few years earlier.
Why was there two voice actors for The Polar Express?
Why are there two actors for each of the major children's parts? The film was done in all Digital Capture so they had one actor/actress who acted out a character for the Digital Capture and then one actor/actress who voiced the character.
According to some North American sources, his original name was Kris Kringle before he changed his name to Santa Claus. Kris Kringle was a toymaker who married Jessica. Other names found for Mrs Claus are Mary Christmas, Gertrude, and Carol. This may be a good question to ask Santa when you write to him this year.
The studio first offered the role of Kris Kringle to Gwenn's cousin, the well-known character actor 'Cecil Kellaway', but he had turned it down. The studio then offered it to Gwenn, who pounced on it. His performance was to earn him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor (at age 71).
In the decades since their wedding day, Hanks and Wilson have raised two sons together, Chester "Chet" Marlon Hanks, 33, and Truman Theodore Hanks, 28. Tom Hanks is also a father of two other children, Colin Hanks, 45, and Elizabeth Hanks, 41, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Samantha Lewes.
From his mother, Abraham Lincoln was a third degree cousin to the famous actor Tom Hanks. Hanks narrated the docudrama film Killing Lincoln, released in 2011, about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln's father was a descendant of English immigrants who arrived in Massachusetts in 1637.
Elizabeth appeared as an extra in movies with her dad as a child. She later began a career as a writer after graduating from Vassar College, using the moniker E.A. Hanks. Her writing has been featured in publications such as the Guardian, New York Times and Times Magazine.
Meanwhile, Hanks does believe in God and, during early press events for the upcoming movie “Angels and Demons,” he stressed that he isn't a believer when it comes to conspiracy theories.
Whenever two of his characters interacted, a stand-in would take his place not wearing a motion-capture suit, then Tom would switch to the other character. His voice for Hero Boy would later be dubbed over by Daryl Sabara, who woulc mimic Hanks' voice while playing the role.
What does the ghost in The Polar Express represent?
I think that the Hobo represents the ghost of what would have happened to Hero Boy, had he never gotten on the train. A skeptical, bitter adult who is stuck on the Polar express, trying to meet Santa.
The train ride shows the sanctification process of God's people. As I mentioned earlier, the train represents the cross and the Conductor is Jesus. The train is powered by the consumption of coal (sin/death). Each child receives a ticket when they enter onto the train (salvation).
