Death in Paradise's Ralf Little recalls messing up an audition infront of Tom Hanks

A part in Band of Brothers was on the line.

By Dan Seddon

13 Jan 2023

ralf little as neville parker , death in paradise christmas special

BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Denis Guyenon

Death in Paradise actor Ralf Little has revealed he once directed an awkward joke at Tom Hanks before an audition.

Fresh from a career-kickstarting role in The Royle Family, still just 20 years old, Little found himself infront of the two-time Oscar-winner with a job in Band of Brothers on the line, which Hanks was producing along with Steven Spielberg for HBO.

Appearing on Kate Thornton's podcast White Wine Question Time recently, the TV star suggested he wanted to be "memorable" amidst the many auditionees, so he decided to try and make Hanks laugh.

ralf little as detective inspector neville parker in death in paradise

BBC

"He's filming Cast Away at the time so he's emaciated and he's got a big beard. And I go, 'Nice beardadge, by the way!'" recalled Little.

It didn't land, leaving his A-list subject rather baffled.

Being the exemplary human that he is, though, Hanks attempted to "rescue" the youngster with his own quip.

"He goes, 'Oh, beardage. Oh, I see! Hey, it's not even for a role. It's just fashion, you know! You like it?'"

In retrospect, Little's response was probably a misguided one, as he hit back with: "Nah, you look like s**t!". He went on to emphasise, however, that Hanks was in general "just lovely about it".

AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASGetty Images

Released in 2000 and directed by Robert Zemeckis, Cast Away sees Hanks play Chuck Noland, a systems analyst executive marooned on a South Pacific island after his flight to Malaysia crashes.

There's a four-year time jump halfway through the movie, which meant the acting legend needed to shed loads of weight in order to authentically capture his character's desperate situation.

Death in Paradise series 12 currently airs on BBC One, while a spin-off titled Beyond Paradise is now in production.