Playing real-life characters is a huge responsibility: Tom Hanks

Veteran actor Tom Hanks said playing real-life characters on-screen is a "huge responsibility" for him.

Over the years, the 61-year-old actor has featured in a number of biographical films by playing Walt Disney in Saving Mr Banks, pilot Chesley Sullenberger in Sully and the titular mariner in Captain Phillips, to name a few.

"I play real people a lot. And it is a huge responsibility. Anytime you are playing somebody who was alive, for good or for bad, that performance becomes a version of an official record of what happened: what motivated them, what obstacles they faced, and how they got through their particular struggle," Hanks told W magazine.

"There's a degree of leeway that you can allow yourself as long as you're not turning good guys into bad guys, or knowledge into ignorance," he added.

Hanks also said that it is easier playing someone "who's no longer living".

"Because then you don't have to meet them," the actor added.