The Americas Narrator Tom Hanks is Full of Nature Facts: "I'm the Greatest Dinner Companion"
The first two episodes of The Americas premiere exclusively on NBC Sunday, February 23 at 7 p.m. ET.
Tom Hanks has dubbed himself "the greatest dinner companion there can possibly be," thanks to the treasure trove of nature factoids he learned while narrating The Americas.
The Oscar-winning actor known for such beloved classics as Forrest Gump, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away sat down with Today's Savannah Guthrie Wednesday morning to discuss NBC's 10-episode docuseries that spotlights the incredible wildlife found throughout North and South America (you can watch the full interview below).
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Their conversation intentionally took place against the backdrop of Central Park, which features heavily in one of the episodes.
"There is a type of wildlife that exists right there that is as evocative as anything that happens in the wild," he said of the raccoon colony inhabiting Manhattan's iconic centerpiece. While he was provided with plenty of great narrating copy from the production team, Hanks couldn't help but insert some of his own personality into the show (as the old saying goes, acting is reacting).
"A ton of it is also just me reacting to this footage," he admitted. "There are times where I cannot believe what I am looking at. There is not a moment of artificiality in there. Nothing has been CGI'd ... [You ask yourself], 'How long is someone bent over an eyepiece of a camera, saying, I think the bee is going to land where the other bee is'?"
How to watch The Americas
The first two episodes of The Americas premiere exclusively on NBC Sunday, February 23 at 7 p.m. ET and will lead directly into the hotly-anticipated series premiere of Suits LA. Following its own debut, The Americas will begin to drop its remaining eight installments on a weekly basis every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Each episode will be available to stream next-day on Peacock. For complete scheduling information, click here!
The episode titles are as follows: “The Atlantic Coast,” “Mexico,” “The Wild West,” “The Amazon,” “The Frozen North,” “The Gulf Coast,” “The Andes,” “The Caribbean,” “The West Coast,” and “Patagonia.” Emmy and BAFTA-winner Mike Gunton (Life, Planet Earth II, Dynasties) serves as executive producer on behalf of the BBC Studios Natural History Unit.
