The screen icon appeared on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' on Monday night, revealing that he has developed type 2 diabetes
Tom Hanks dished out some particularly unfortunate news earlier this week when he appeared on Monday night's (7 Oct.) edition of The Late Show with David Letterman. The double Oscar-winner appeared on the late night chat show to discuss his new movie, Captain Phillips, but before he began the first thing he mentioned was his recent health deterioration, getting the evening's entertainment off to an unexpected start.
Hanks as he appears in Captain Phillips
"I went to the doctor and he said 'You know those high blood sugar numbers you've been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you've graduated. You've got type 2 diabetes, young man,'" the ever-popular actor said (via CBS). He went on to tell Letterman that the doctors have given him hope of ending his battle with diabetes, but the only option capable of doing this would be dramatic weight loss, which Hanks said would be a major problem.
He said to the talk show host, "My doctor said 'If you can weigh as much as you weighed in high school you will essentially be completely healthy and will not have Type 2 diabetes' and I said, 'Well, I'm gonna have Type 2 diabetes cause there is no way I can weigh as much as I did in high school.'"
Hanks is known for his dedication to roles and has undergone dramatic weight transformations for certain parts in the past, a factor that some medical professionals blame for his current health issues. He gained 30 pounds back in 1992 in order to portray the portly baseball coach Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own. About a decade later he lost around 55 ponds for his role as a man stranded on a desert island in Castaway, going from 225lbs to 170lbs.
Watch the trailer for Hanks' new film, Captain Phillips
Although his body did not require a massive makeover for his latest part, Hanks still threw himself head first into the role in order to create a believable depiction of the real life events. His performance as the American merchant ship captain detained on his own vessel by Somali pirates has been given routine praise, with critics describing Hanks' performance as the embattled captain as one of his best and the film itself is being touted for Oscar success. Captain Phillips arrives in cinemas on 11 October in the US and a week later in the UK.
The film is out this month
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