Why Tom Hanks made a special appearance on '1883'

'1883' fans were delighted when Tom Hanks made a cameo on the second episode of the prequel to 'Yellowstone.'

Tom Hanks, a 65-year-old, Oscar-winning actor, does not frequently make television appearances, so it was indeed a surprise.

Photo: screenshot YouTube

So how did the producers get Hanks to appear in '1883'? Well, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill had a little something to do with it!

According to People, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have been friends with McGraw and Hill for years.

McGraw told Cinemablend about working with Hanks and their friendship, "You never want to botch a scene when you got Tom Hanks in there with you, but yeah, he's a great guy."

Photo: Paramount

McGraw continued, "We've been friends for a long time. Rita, his wife, and Faith are best friends, and Tom and I've been friends for 25 years, 24 years."

Tim McGraw simply called up his long-time friend Tom Hanks and asked him for a favor: "...I gave him a call said, 'Hey, would you be interested in showing up doing a cameo in this show that we're doing?'

Naturally, Hanks replied, "'Tell me when to be there,' and he just showed up," explained Tim.

Paramount+'s newest hit series, '1883', tells us the story of the Dutton family as they travel from the middle of Texas to a ranch in Montana, where the set of the present-day series 'Yellowstone' is based. The television series created by Taylor Sheridan began streaming on Paramount+ on December 19th.

Country music superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (who in real life are husband and wife) star in the series as the original settlers of the Dutton dynasty.

Photo: IMBD

Their descendants are the characters that we all know and love from the set in the present day 'Yellowstone' series starring Kevin Costner and Kelly Reilly as John and Beth Dutton, along with their family.

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have been married for 25 years, and both have tried their hand at acting.

McGraw has been in several high-profile films such as 'Friday Night Lights,' 'The Blind Side,' and 'Tomorrowland.'

Photo: IMBD

On the other hand, Faith Hill hasn't had quite as much experience as her husband. However, she has appeared in the remake of 'The Stepford Wives' and 'Dixieland.'

Photo: screenshot from 'Stepford Wives'

Undoubtedly, '1883' is Hill's most prominent on-screen role yet, and it is the first time she stars alongside her husband, Tim McGraw.

Photo: Paramount

During a round table interview that 'Taste of Country' was a part of, Tim McGraw told the story of how he came to form part of the show.

Photo: screenshot YouTube, Paramount

McGraw was invited to appear on 'Yellowstone,' and McGraw said he would like to be on the show, but only if he could do something unique.

In an interview with Forbes, McGraw explained further, "I said if there was something interesting, I would love to do it. He said (Taylor Sheridan), 'I have an idea, give me a week.' He called back a week later and he came up with the idea of me playing the original Dutton who founded Yellowstone Ranch in 1880s and doing a flashback sequence of it. To me, that was very interesting."

Photo: screenshot from 'Yellowstone'

Tim went on to explain to Forbes that after filming the flashback sequence with his wife Faith, Sheridan called him some months later and said, "I showed the scenes to the studio and I think that they want to buy a prequel to Yellowstone based on these scenes. Are you and Faith in?"

McGraw said, "We were like of course we're in! Then when he started sending the scripts, it was a no-brainer. We were floored by it and we were just driven to do it."

When McGraw was shown the script for '1883' the country musician said it was one of the best scripts he'd ever read.

Photo: screenshot YouTube

In his interview with Taste of Country, Tim McGraw said that being able to work alongside his wife and actor Sam Elliot while riding horses all day made it an impossible role to turn down.

Photo: screenshot YouTube

McGraw and Hill play the grandparents of John Dutton, who Kevin Costner portrays on the wildly popular original series that airs on the Paramount Network.

Photo: Screenshot 'Yellowstone'

Together, the Duttons travel west on a wagon train through harsh environmental conditions along the Oregon Trail, an unforgiving and unpredictable route.

Photo: screenshot YouTube

Joined by family and a group of immigrants who also hope to make the journey, they encounter hostile enemies at every turn in their quest to acquire the land that will become the largest cattle ranch in the United States.

Photo: screenshot YouTube

Faith Hill also took part in the same round table interview as her husband, McGraw. Looper reported how the singer finally ended up working together on an acting project with her husband.

Hill said, "Tim and I have been approached to do things together on film before, but it needed to be many things [for us to say yes] And after reading the '1883' script it was just like, there's no way that we could ever pass this up."

Photo: screenshot YouTube

Hill went on to explain that her on-screen daughter, Elsa, really impressed her in the script, "The writing is just so remarkable, and the strength. The character that Isabel May plays, our daughter Elsa on the show is ... wow. I just had never, ever read a female character so strong at such a young age during that time period. Any period really."

Photo: Paramount

Faith Hill concluded that although it has been difficult at times to work together, she has no regrets on her and McGraw's decision to star in '1883', saying, "So, yeah, we said yes. And I am so glad for it. We knew it was going to be hard — we were warned multiple times by Taylor — but it has most definitely been worth it."

Photo: screenshot YouTube