Forrest Gump fans will be blown away after seeing pictures of the actor who played young Forrest.
The iconic 1994 film captured viewers’ hearts as the story followed a man with low IQ who recalls the early years of his life before he’s reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Tom Hanks played Forrest, but at the time he was 37-years-old, so obviously a child actor had to play the protagonist during his flashback scenes.
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American actor Michael Conner Humphreys was hired to take on this iconic role and was just eight-years-old when he began filming.
Humphreys’ version of Gump lived in Alabama in the 1950s and was a major part of the film’s storyline.
Michael starred alongside Hanks, as well as Robin Wright, who played the grown up version of Forrest’s love interest Jenny, and Sally Field, who played Gump’s mother.
After appearing in the Hollywood blockbuster, Michael graduated from high school.
Ten years after his Forrest Gump role, Humphreys enlisted in the US Army – exactly like the older version of his character.
The child actor completed his service four years later in 2008.
He spoke on The Paul Leslie Hour back in 2020 and addressed his acting career, as well as his decision to join the army.
(Image: Internet Unknown)
When Leslie asked Humphreys what made him join the army, the Forrest Gump star admitted he was “already interested in military technology when he was a kid” and loved “aircrafts, ships, tanks and all that stuff”.
He continued: “Then doing Forrest Gump, I had some direct contact with [the] marines. They took me to the marine base and let me tour an F18 fighter jet and everything. They let me play around with that stuff as a kid, that got my interest a little more peaked.”
Humphreys also revealed that he “has family who have been in the military,” including his father and his uncle.
The actor said that he “didn’t really intend on being there” but “when wars started happening” – Afghanistan and Iraq – he realised “there was a reason to be there”.
Michael also said: “My dad always told me: ‘Don’t join the army in peacetime,’ because you’ll be pushing the same button for four years. There’s nothing really to do.”
He also admitted he’d be open to getting back into acting again.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
