Tom Hanks on playing Walt Disney Ahead of the European premiere of Saving Mr Banks, Tom Hanks spoke to the BBC about the challenge of being the only person to play Walt Disney - other than the man himself. The film tells the story of the making of Mary Poppins, co-starring Emma Thompson as the author of the original stories, PL Travers. Hanks told Lizo Mzimba: "The only man who had played Walt Disney prior to me was Walt Disney himself." Tom Hanks film Saving Mr Banks to close London festival