The “Cruel” Pizza Prank That Helped Tom Hanks Win His First Oscar

While the 1993 classic Philadelphia remains one of the most intense and heartbreaking dramas in cinema history, the atmosphere on set was surprisingly — and hilariously — cruel. Take the 1993 classic Philadelphia. On screen, Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) and Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) were fighting a high-stakes legal battle over discrimination and AIDS. But behind the camera, Washington was waging a different kind of war: a psychological battle against his co-star’s growling stomach.

To play a man dying of AIDS, Hanks had to undergo a massive physical transformation. He wasn’t just acting tired; he was actually exhausted. He dropped a huge amount of weight, shrinking down to a skeletal frame to look the part. To get there, he was reportedly living on a measly 800 calories a day. For context, that’s barely enough to cover a light breakfast for most people, let alone a grown man working 12-hour days on a movie set.

Hanks was hungry, grumpy, and focused. And Washington? Well, the mischievous actor saw an opportunity.

During a hilarious interview on The Graham Norton Show, Washington came clean about how he spent his time on set. Instead of being the supportive co-star who ate his lunch in private, he decided to turn his own meals into a comedy routine.

“It was extreme,” Washington recalled, laughing about Hanks’s strict diet. “He was really, really skinny in the scenes in the courtroom. So, I would leave candy bars [lying around].”

But it didn’t stop at just leaving a Snickers on a table. Washington took it to a theatrical level. He told Graham Norton: “I would sneeze, and 500 Almond Joys would fly out [of my pocket]!” Imagine being so hungry you can’t think straight, and your co-star — one of the coolest guys in Hollywood — starts “accidentally” showering you with your favourite candy every time he clears his nose. Washington even admitted to having pizzas delivered directly to Hanks while he was trying to stay in character.

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You might think that’s cruel (and Washington joked that it was), but there was a method to the madness. Film sets for dramas can get incredibly depressing. By being the bad influence, Hanks’ co-star kept the mood light. He gave his fellow actor something to laugh about — and someone to “hate” in a fun way — which broke the tension of the heavy subject matter.

It clearly didn’t hurt the performance. In fact, Hanks went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia. It was the first of his legendary back-to-back Oscar wins (he won for Forrest Gump the very next year).

Washington hasn’t let him forget it, either. As he told the audience on Graham Norton: “He thanked me when he won the Oscar… probably for the pizzas!”

So, let this be a lesson to all aspiring actors: if you want to win an Oscar, you might need a legendary co-star to throw chocolate bars at you. Just maybe don’t try it on your friends during finals week!

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