Darcie Davis

During the filming of "Forrest Gump," director Bob Zemeckis realized he had a problem: The kid cast to play the young Forrest had a thick accent—sounding nothing like the way Tom Hanks was portraying the adult Forrest. Hanks' simple solution would define the iconic character: "Bob said, 'We got a problem here, you have to teach this kid how to talk the way you talk,'" Hanks says. "And I thought, 'Why don't I just talk the way he talks?'" The kid was from Mississippi and had a thick Southern accent. The iconic Forrest Gump accent and mannerisms were simply a result of Tom Hanks imitating the kid. Takeaway 1: The iconic characterization of Forrest Gump was a solution to a problem. Creativity is often forced out of necessity like this. The iconic POV scenes in Jaws, for instance, were also a solution to a problem: the mechanical shark broke. So director Steven Spielberg had no choice but to film the movie without his main character. Takeaway 2: One of the hottest actors in Hollywood, Hanks could have demanded they find another kid or that the kid figure out how to sound like Hanks. Instead, Hanks adapted and adopted the kid’s speech and mannerisms. Jerry Seinfeld talks about how great artists are like slalom skiers. “I always say, ‘If I’m the skier Lindsey Vonn, I don’t care where you put the gates on the mountain. Put ‘em anywhere you want. I’m going to make the gates.’” Seinfeld continues, "That’s how you have to think: ‘I don’t care what happens, I’m going to adjust to it.’” - - - "Creativity and adaptability are inseparable." — Robert Greene Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!