Tom Hanks To Star As His Relative

Posted Wednesday, July 31, 2002 at 4:05 PM Central

by John Couture

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are teaming up once again, but you might be surprised as to who Tom might be playing. Rumor has it that Tom Hanks will play one of his ancestors in the collaboration.

Who was this mysterious history maker in Tom Hanks' past? Why, it's none other than the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Hanks is a direct descendant of Nancy Hanks, Abe's natural mother who died when he was 9.

While the casting of Hanks is still a rumor, the project is very much real. Writer John Logan (who co-wrote a small movie called Gladiator a few years back) wrote the screenplay for Dreamworks with the intention that Spielberg would direct.