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The “astonishing” 1996 role that blew Tom Hanks away: “The performance of the ages”
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.
In short
- 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.
Explained simply
That Thing You Do! is a 1996 musical comedy-drama set in the 1960s, about a fictional band called The Wonders and their brief success as a one-hit group. It was Tom Hanks’s first film as a director; he also wrote the story and appeared in it.
Steve Zahn plays Lenny Haise, the band’s lead guitarist. The film’s first cinema release brought in modest ticket sales, but it later found a larger audience through home viewing and became a cult favourite.