Somehow Tom Hanks ended up wearing no trousers in front of the Mona Lisa
It happened on his birthday.
It turns out Tom Hanks took his kit off in front of the Mona Lisa. Yes, you read that right.
While starring in 2006 classic The Da Vinci Code – based on Dan Brown’s books – Tom, 68, had a brief moment of indecency in front of the famous 1503 Leonardo da Vinci painting.
Director Ron Howard has recalled how the Forrest Gump actor was forced to go ‘pants-less’ in front of the Mona Lisa while filming the famous thriller in The Louvre Museum in Paris.
During a Happy Days reunion event held at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida over the weekend, the actor-director told the anecdote.
‘All of our grip equipment and camera equipment was in the Mona Lisa room. And at one point, we were really hurrying, we were behind schedule,’ Ron told the audience, according to People.
He was filming The Da Vinci Code when he had an impromptu change of costume (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)‘And Tom Hanks didn’t have time to go back to his dressing room to change for the next scene. And so, I was giving him some notes about what the next scene was going to be, and he was changing his pants in front of the Mona Lisa.’
Ron went on to describe how the moment is forever ingrained in his memory.
Director Ron Howard told the story about Tom (Picture: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) We’re sure she wouldn’t have minded… (Picture: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images)‘I said, “Wait a minute. This is a moment we have to remember.” We’ve been under the water with the mermaid, we’ve been weightless with Apollo 13, and now you’re pants-less with the Mona Lisa,’ the 70-year-old smiled.
Over the course of their careers Ron has directed Tom in five projects, including 1984’s Splash, 1995’s Apollo 13, and three of the movies in The Da Vinci Code franchise: The Da Vinci Code, 2009’s Angels & Demons, and 2006’s Inferno.
Tom has briefly talked about the experience before and said it happened on his birthday (Picture: Simon Mein/Columbia/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)Previously, Tom recounted the incident in an interview for The New York Times in 2022.
‘It was my 40th-something birthday. We were shooting in the Louvre at night. I changed my pants in front of the Mona Lisa!’ he remembered.
‘They brought me a birthday cake in the Grand Salon! Who gets to have that experience? Any cynicism there? Hell no!’
Tom starred in the mystery thriller alongside Audrey Tautou, Paul Bettany, Sir Ian McKellen and Jean Reno.
The Saving Mr Banks actor played the role of Professor Robert Langdon, who works to find the killer after a murder takes place in The Louvre while also being a prime suspect himself.
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