TOM HANKS - HANKS INTIMIDATED BY GUINNESS' PERFORMANCE

Hollywood star TOM HANKS refused to watch the original THE LADYKILLERS movie before filming the remake, because he didn't want to be intimated by SIR ALEC GUINNESS' performance.

The 47-year-old actor deliberately avoided the 1955 comedy because he feared ALEXANDER MACKENDRICK's version would threaten his acting abilities in the COEN BROTHERS' film.

Hanks confesses, "I'm sure I would have been intimidated by Alec Guinness and that's the last thing I need. So I didn't bother watching it. You can't do anything about comparisons. Legends like that stand on their own.

"I just go out, do my job and see whether it works. I wouldn't have gotten involved if this had been a straight remake. If it's already been done successfully one way, why bother? But the Coens weren't interested in that either, so it gave us a free hand to reinterpret."