Tom Hanks plays the title character in 'Sully'; a film exploring the controversial rescue of over 150 people on Flight 1549 by pilot Chesley Sullenberger. In order to get into the mindset of his character, he met up with the real Sully and was amazed at how meticulous he was.

Tom HanksTom Hanks stars as Captain Chesley Sullenberger in 'Sully'

There are certain jobs in the world that take a very particular kind of person to do them well, and when it comes to Chesley Sullenberger, Tom Hanks describes him as 'the most particular human being [he's] ever met'. Because, after all, flying a plane is against nature in many ways, and with that comes serious risk.

'He was in charge of this thing with motors and wings and seats on it that needed to do the superhuman which was get 150 people from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina without anything happening', Hanks explained on the red carpet at the movie's premiere. 'When you think about it, that's a guy who has to look at every bolt, every screw, every turn of the page, every to-do list, everything that could possibly go wrong he has to be proactively aware of.'

Watch the video for 'Sully' here:


 

Indeed, Sully's quick and careful thinking led him to make a decision that many would have avoided. He made an emergency landing into the Hudson River and managed to escape the situation with zero fatalities. If he hadn't made that decision, many people could've have died - and not just the people on the plane. Despite this, rather than being immediately lauded for his brave leadership, he was heavily investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Tom Hanks is quickly becoming an expert at playing real people. He has played lawyer James B. Donovan in the Oscar winning film 'Bridge of Spies', cargo ship Captain Richard Phillips in 'Captain Phillips', Walt Disney in 'Saving Mr. Banks', US Congressman Charlie Wilson in 'Charlie Wilson's War' and astronaut Jim Lovell in 'Apollo 13'.