Tom Hanks gets candid about 'Saving Private Ryan' In Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks stepped into Captain John H. Miller role, which electrified the audience and stunned the critics. Now as the World War II anniversary is near, Hanks is looking back at one of the deadliest wars in history. Advertisement Part of History Channel series that honours America’s 250th independence anniversary, the actor revisited the Nazi’s Germany invasion of Poland. “In less than a month, a major European nation has been removed from the map,” Hanks says as he reflects on grim footage of explosions and soldiers shooting at...