# The “astonishing” 1996 role that blew Tom Hanks away: “The performance of the ages”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-astonishing-1996-role-that-blew-tom-hanks-away-the-performance-of-the-ages/
- Published: 2026-08-03T15:45:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-03T16:19:54+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/astonishing-1996-role-blew-tom-hanks-away/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Tom Hanks hailed Steve Zahn’s 1996 performance as astonishing.
- Zahn played guitarist Lenny Haise in *That Thing You Do!*.
- The film later became a cult favourite.

## Summary

Tom Hanks praised Steve Zahn’s performance as Lenny Haise in his 1996 directorial debut, *That Thing You Do!*, calling it “the performance of the ages” and “astonishing”. The remarks underline Zahn’s contribution to a film that initially underperformed commercially but later became a cult favourite.

The musical comedy-drama follows fictional 1960s one-hit-wonders The Wonders, with Zahn playing the band’s eccentric lead guitarist. Hanks wrote, directed and appeared in the film, which opened in October 1996 and reportedly earned about $25 million in the US and $8.7 million internationally before gaining a wider following through home viewing.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.