Sir David Attenborough is Britain’s undisputed nature show king.
However, across the Atlantic another charismatic, captivating figure is emerging as the voice of natural history – none other than Tom Hanks.
He is the face of a new blockbuster nature show showcasing the beauty of the wild Americas.
TV producer Mike Gunton has now recalled how he thought Hanks would be a top nature talent. Sat in an office pitching to Hollywood execs, he said his name popped into his head one day.
“I’d just finished working on a project with David Attenborough, and I was thinking, ‘Who’s the equivalent? Who does everybody want to be with? Who does everybody trust? Who does everybody want to hear?’ It’s got to be Tom Hanks.”
Several years later, the multi award-winning actor can be heard narrating a new 10-part natural world series sweeping the enormous breadth of the Americas.
Covering two continents and spanning multiple ecosystems, the ambitious show was filmed over the course of five years and 180 expeditions.
“As far as nature is concerned, this is one super landmass,” says Gunton, creative director of Factual and the Natural History Unit for BBC Studios, whose past accolades include Planet Earth II and Dynasties.
“It’s the only place that reaches right up into the Arctic and right down into the Antarctic. It splits oceans and has the Tropics of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, the Equator and every type of habitat.”
Commissioned for an initial US release, the blockbuster series intentionally aims to instil a sense of national pride in the destinations featured. Entertaining whilst being educational, it’s a visual safari and Tom Hanks is very much along for the ride.
“It feels like Tom is sitting here with his arm around you, saying, ‘I’ve just seen this most incredible thing’ – rather than a voice of God saying this happens here and this happens there,” adds Gunton.
From bison on the Great Plains to polar bears in Hudson Bay, countless bucket-list wildlife experiences feature along with behaviours captured for the first time – including several male blue whales racing along the coast of California, a sequence which Gunton highlights as one of his favourites.
“This is an animal that is the size of a jumbo jet, almost going at 30 miles an…
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