Hollywood loves a good "clash of the titans" narrative. Usually, it involves two egos fighting over trailer sizes or who gets top billing on the poster. But when Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks finally teamed up for the 2016 film Sully, the drama wasn't about ego. It was about speed. Specifically, it was about how a 90-year-old legend with a "one-and-done" philosophy managed to terrify the nicest man in show business by simply refusing to say the word "action."
Honestly, it’s wild that they didn't work together sooner. You have the ultimate American director of grit and the ultimate American avatar of decency. They are basically the two pillars of Warner Bros. history. Yet, they waited until a story about a bird strike and a freezing river to actually get in a room together.
The result? A $240 million box office hit that still gets shared in "did you know" trivia clips every single time it hits a streaming service. But if you ask Hanks about it, he won't talk about the money. He’ll talk about the horses.
Why Clint Eastwood Treats His Actors Like Horses
If you’ve ever seen a Tom Hanks interview about this movie, you've heard the "horse" thing. It sounds like a jab, but it’s actually a deep insight into how Eastwood’s brain works.
Back in the 1960s, Clint was a young actor on the set of Rawhide. He noticed that every time the director grabbed a megaphone and screamed "ACTION!" at the top of his lungs, the horses would freak out. Their ears would pin back, they’d start shifting, and the scene would be ruined before a single line was spoken.
Clint decided then and there that if he ever sat in the big chair, he’d do the opposite.
On the set of Sully, Hanks was prepared for a rigorous, high-intensity shoot. Instead, he got "the quietest set in human history." Eastwood doesn’t yell. He doesn’t even really give a formal start. He just leans in and says, "Okay, go ahead."
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When he’s seen enough? He doesn't scream "Cut!" He just mutters, "That’s enough of that."
For an actor like Hanks, who is used to the high-energy "theatre" of a modern film set, this was intimidating as hell. He once told Graham Norton that you never quite know if you’ve done a good job or if Clint is just bored. It’s a minimalist approach that forces an actor to be "on" at all times because the camera might already be rolling before you’ve finished your coffee.
The Myth of the "One Take" Director
There is a common misconception that Clint Eastwood only does one take. That’s not quite true, but it’s close. He’s efficient to a fault. While someone like David Fincher might demand 70 takes of a man opening a door, Clint is looking for the "first-look" honesty.
Hanks is a technician. He likes to calibrate. But on Sully, he had to learn to trust his gut.
- The Script: Eastwood famously shoots the script as written, with very little "fat."
- The Pace: Sully was shot with incredible speed, which helped capture the exhausted, shell-shocked vibe of Captain Sullenberger.
- The Trust: Clint doesn't over-explain. He hires people he trusts and then lets them do the job.
The Sully Connection: A Masterclass in Restraint
What most people get wrong about Sully is that they think it’s a disaster movie. It’s not. It’s a procedural drama about a man being gaslit by his own government.
The real Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was actually on set quite a bit. He was notorious for being incredibly particular about the details. He once pulled out a script that was so full of Post-it notes it looked like a primary school art project. He wanted the flight sequences to be perfect.
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Hanks, being the professional he is, absorbed all of it. He even grew the mustache (and later shaved it, just like the real Sully did to avoid being recognized in public). But the magic happened because of that weird tension between Hanks’s meticulous preparation and Eastwood’s "just do it" directing style.
The NTSB investigation scenes are some of the most underrated moments in modern cinema. You have Hanks sitting there, white-haired and weary, defending a decision that took 208 seconds to make. Eastwood’s camera doesn't blink. There are no fancy tricks. Just a man being questioned by a computer.
The IMAX Factor
Did you know Sully was the first mainstream Hollywood movie shot almost entirely with IMAX cameras?
Usually, directors use those massive, noisy machines for superhero fights or space travel. Eastwood used them for a movie about a 57-year-old pilot in a cockpit. It was a statement. He wanted the scale of the Hudson River to feel as massive as a galaxy. When you see the plane hitting the water on a big screen, it’s not CGI-heavy fluff. It feels heavy. It feels wet. It feels real.
Why This Duo Still Matters in 2026
We are currently living in an era where movies are increasingly "content"—optimized by algorithms and green-screened to death. The Eastwood-Hanks collaboration represents the end of an era of "Adult Dramas" that actually make money.
Look at the numbers. Sully made nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. For a movie where the "action" is over in the first ten minutes and the rest is just people talking in rooms, that is staggering. It proved that audiences still want to see stories about competence.
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We like watching people who are good at their jobs.
Eastwood’s recent work, like Juror #2, continues this trend of "small" stories told on a large scale. He’s 95 now (or will be soon, depending on when you're reading this), and his philosophy hasn't changed. He still doesn't like the megaphone. He still treats his actors like horses.
And Hanks? He’s still the only guy who can play a hero without making it feel like he’s posing for a statue.
Actionable Insights for Film Buffs and Creators
If you’re a fan of these two or a creator yourself, there are a few "Sully-era" lessons to take away:
- Trust the "First Look": If you’re a creator, stop over-editing. Sometimes the raw, first instinct is the one that resonates. Clint’s "that's enough of that" is a reminder that perfection is the enemy of the good.
- Competence is Compelling: You don't need a villain with a cape. Sometimes the most interesting "antagonist" is just a bureaucracy or a set of circumstances that challenges a professional's integrity.
- Efficiency Wins: Sully is only 96 minutes long. In an age of three-hour marathons, it’s a lean, mean masterpiece. If you can tell the story in 90 minutes, don't take 120.
If you haven't revisited the film lately, it’s currently streaming on Max (and various other platforms depending on your region). It’s worth a watch just to see the moment where Hanks realizes the camera has been rolling the whole time and he just has to be Sully.
To truly understand the legacy of this duo, your next step should be to watch the "Making Of" featurettes or the Graham Norton interview where Hanks does his Eastwood impression. It’s the best way to see the mutual respect—and the hilarious terror—that defined one of the best collaborations in modern Hollywood history.