Tom Hanks has blasted film critics amid a rant about the impact negative reviews can have on the success of a project.
During an interview for the latest episode of the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast, host Conan asked the Oscar-winning actor about his 1996 directorial debut That Thing You Do!
In response, Tom blasted the movie critics who criticised the comedy-drama at the time of its release.
"Let me tell you something about these c**ksuckers who write about movies," he began, before asking: "Can I say that?"
Conan insisted Tom could say whatever he wanted.
"My father writes about movies, and his name is C**ksucker," the TV presenter joked, with the Hollywood icon going on to recall a specific scenario.
"Somebody who wrote about (That Thing You Do! stated) that 'Tom Hanks has to stop hanging around on with veterans of TV because this is just like it's shot on TV, and it's not much of anything,'" Tom recounted. "That same person then wrote about the cult classic That Thing You Do! Same exact person. All you need is 20 years between now and then, and it ends up speaking somewhere."
However, the star conceded that all actors know they will eventually receive a poor review.
"That's, you know, that's the carnival. That's the contest," he continued. "Right? I got faith in that, that's alright."
Elsewhere in the conversation, Tom used 1994's Forrest Gump as an example of a film that he feared wouldn't be received well by critics.
"We had worked so hard so much and we were only about 40 per cent through with the movie," the 68-year-old remembered. "We had shot 27 straight days in a row in which included helicopter rides to places in America where Forrest runs across the country with a beard, without a beard. You know, we've been all over the place. And I'm exhausted."
Tom's new movie Here, which serves as a reunion between him, Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis and co-star Robin Wright, is in U.S. cinemas now.
