Tom Hanks reflects on narrating NBC’s ‘The Americas’

Tom Hanks is no stranger to voice work, having brought characters to life for decades, most notably since 1995 as Woody in Toy Story, but narrating NBC’s new docuseries The Americas took a very different kind of focus for the Oscar winner, who also serves as an executive producer on the project.

“There was a key thing here. Oftentimes, you record to nothing; there’s no imagery that goes along with it. They send along the text. But the great pleasure, the great tool, the great advantage here, is that we were shown exactly what was onscreen. I didn’t have to imagine anything,” Hanks shared. 

“To me, there’s no substitute for that instinctive first lunge you take at material. It’s pure. It’s void of alteration, and it’s just pure focus.”

The project itself was an enormous undertaking. 

Executive producer Mike Gunton and his team spent five years across 180 expeditions to capture powerful and rare footage of life across North and South America. One of the first scenes Hanks narrated featured spectacled bears making their way down a hillside — a drone shot that left a strong impression.

“It was intimidating as hell, because you didn’t want to put a hat on and make a comment on what we were seeing. You had to do just the opposite. You had to go along with this incredibly cinematic, visual story. And if you talk too much, you’ve blown it,” he explained. 

“If you don’t say enough, [you’re] missing out on a great opportunity. And if you don’t trust the instinctive thrust that you have to it, you’ll be bringing something inorganic to it.”

While some may assume voiceover work is simple, Hanks made it clear that narrating The Americas required far more than just reading lines. “You do not want to mar something that is so magnificent. You don’t want to be that kind of park ranger who’s giving a tour that gives way too much information or it gets bogged down in the minutia,” he said.

Instead, his goal was to react honestly to what he was watching. 

“The whole point of it was that’s not what this is. I always viewed it as a dinner party with a slideshow: ‘Would you like to see my vacation in the Amazonian rainforest? You’re not going to believe what orca whales do when they’re hungry.’”

Gunton called Hanks “America’s dad,” a label the actor accepts with thoughtfulness and a bit of humor. 

“I think that might say more about the induced trauma of family of origin issues for most of America. But I will say, I would love to be called something specific: The best park ranger they’ve ever heard,” he joked, recalling a park ranger talk he watched as a kid that left a lasting impression.

“Look, I have enthusiasms that are particular to me. I have a willingness to dominate every dinner table that I sit at. It’s one of [my] character defects that I’m working on. But I’m going to treat that seriously when someone comes in and says, ‘We look upon you as a dad.’ Because the best dads are going to offer up wisdom, patience and just the right amount of discipline when the time comes,” Hanks said.

As for the role of narrator, Hanks is proud to claim it — as long as he doesn’t have to campaign for it. “I’m just going to have it handed to me!”

Trust, according to Gunton, is what made Hanks the right choice. 

“People need to trust the person who’s telling these stories has got integrity and is telling them the truth. Because nature is complicated, and people want to know what really is going on here, what’s the real science, the real environment, all those things,” he said. 

“And I think that was another reason why I thought you were the perfect voice.”

Hanks added, “There’s no lies in this thing. There is no crypting together of stuff in order to present some sort of sensibility or an idea, or promote an idea… No CGI, no lies.”