Why Tom Hanks Played Walt Disney: The 30-Year Disney Connection

Discover the untold story of how Disney strategically built the perfect actor to play its founder. Tom Hanks didn't just get cast as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks—he was engineered for the role across three decades of calculated partnership.

From Splash and Touchstone Pictures to Toy Story and beyond, explore how Disney's synergy with Tom Hanks created the most iconic casting decision in Hollywood history. This is the real reason Tom Hanks became Walt Disney.

In This Episode:

Why Disney created Touchstone Pictures and cast Tom Hanks

How Splash (1984) launched the Tom Hanks era

The brilliant Pixar pitch that convinced Hanks to voice Woody

How Tom Hanks became "America's Dad"

The perfect synergy between actor and founder

Why no other actor could have played Walt Disney

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