Tom Hanks Channels 'Forrest Gump' During Run Through Times Square

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Tom Hanks is bringing one of his most iconic film characters back to life -- for a night, that is.

Sporting gray hair and a mustache, the actor was spotted running like Forrest Gump in New York City on Thursday during a night shoot for his new movie Sully.

His current role and his past role seemed to collide for at least a second, as he jogged past the Famous Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Times Square.


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An eyewitness tells ET that Hanks seemed to be channeling his Oscar-winning character during the scene. The photographer who captured the set photos happened to be in the right place at the right time, the source says, as this particular scene was only shot once. The source also tells us that Clint Eastwood was on set directing, with filming beginning at 11 p.m. and ending at 3 a.m.

Hank apparently runs a lot in Sully -- our eyewitness spotted the 59-year-old running on a pier earlier in the day -- so whether or not Eastwood is actually paying homage to the 1994 classic is yet to be revealed.

In the biopic, Hank plays the role of Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the now-retired pilot who made national headlines for his amazing unpowered crash landing on the Hudson River in 2009. After the plane's engines were hit by a flock of geese, his heroic efforts saved all 155 passengers on board US Airways flight 1549, scheduled from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina.

The screenplay, written by Todd Komarnicki, is based on Sullenberger's autobiography, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters.


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"I am very glad my story is in the hands of gifted storyteller and filmmaker Clint Eastwood, and veteran producers Allyn Stewart and Frank Marshall," Sullenberger said in June. "The project could not have found a better home than Warner Bros. Pictures. This is truly a dream team."

As we wait in anticipation for news of Sully's release date, watch the video below to see ET's throwback interview footage of Hanks and his Forrest Gump costars.