„He Thanked Me When He Got The Oscar”. Tom Hanks Got His Revenge On Denzel Washington for Jokes On The Set of Philadelphia
Denzel Washington on the set of Philadelphia teased Tom Hanks, who got his revenge at the 1994 Academy Awards gala.
More than 30 years ago Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington starred together in the film Philadelphia. It brought the story of an AIDS-afflicted lawyer who was fired from his job because of it. However, he decides to fight for his dignity, and as a result sued his former employers. Hanks played the role of the aforementioned lawyer, while Washington played his defense attorney.
Because of his role, Tom Hanks had to lose a lot of weight, which involved going on a diet, which wasn’t made any easier by his co-star Denzel Washington. The star of the Equalizer pranked Hanks on set, tempting him with sweets, which the artist had to deny himself while working on Philadelphia. Washington told the story during a visit to Graham Norton's show.
It was extreme. I mean, he [Tom Hanks] was eating only, like, 800 calories a day and he went way down. So [what] we would do was- He was really really skinny in the scenes in the courtroom. So I would leave candy bars and you know. I would, like, sneeze in 500 Almond Joys… you know. I was having pizzas delivered to him.
Washington couldn't refuse to tease Hanks with food, which Hanks didn't forget and eventually got his revenge. The film was a big success and was even nominated for Oscars – including the Best Leading Actor category, in which Tom Hanks was honored. The actor claimed the statuette at the gala and, as Washington, who unfortunately received no nomination, recalls, managed to get revenge on him.
He [Tom Hanks] thanked me when he won the Oscars.
Of course, everything was just jokes between two friends, and there was no conflict between the actors.