Tom Hanks says he paid for iconic Forrest Gump scene out of his own pocket

Actor earned an estimated $65m for classic film

Tom Hanks has revealed he paid for an iconic scene in the 1994 Oscar-winning classic Forrest Gump.

During an interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Hanks said he and director Robert Zemeckis both paid for numerous scenes to be shot in the movie out of their own pockets when Paramount refused to fund them.

One of the sequences in question is when Gump is seen running across America in the middle of the movie. According to Hanks, Paramount said it was too expensive, even though Zemeckis had argued it was vital to shoot.  

Hanks recalled a conversation where Zemeckis convinced him to help fund the scene, telling Besinger: “He said, ‘Well, this run is going to cost X amount of dollars.’ And it wasn’t cheap. And I said, ‘OK’. He said, ‘You and I are going to split that amount, and we’re going to give it back [to Paramount].  

“We’ll give you the money back, but you guys [Paramount] are going to have to share the profits a little bit more.' To which the studio said, ‘Fabulous, great. OK.’ And it was good for us, too.”

Tom Hanks (Getty Images)

It certainly was good for them, as the film earned Hanks an estimated $65m (£51m) and an Oscar for Best Actor.