There are predators absolutely everywhere: Tom Hanks

Hollywood heavyweight Tom Hanks has weighed in on the sexual abuse scandal, currently ripping through the film industry, explaining that the raft of allegations against prominent men in the entertainment business does not surprise him.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the 61-year-old actor said that he is not surprised by Hollywood's sexual harassment scandal as he believes that "predators are absolutely everywhere" within the entertainment industry.

The 'Bridge of Spies' star said, "There are a lot of reasons people do this for a living. Making a movie is a life experience that can create an awful lot of joy. You can meet the person you fall in love with, you can laugh your heads off. That's the good stuff."

But despite all the good, Hanks noted that there is also a dark side to the film industry that cannot be ignored.

"The bad stuff can happen on a movie as well. There are some people who go into this business because they get off on having power. And the times they feel the most powerful, which is why they went into the business, are when they are hitting on somebody who's underneath them, [and] I don't necessarily mean completely sexually. There are predators absolutely everywhere," noted Hanks.

The Academy Award winning actor also shared that he is optimistic about changes being made in Hollywood and these changes can make Hollywood a safer place.

The 'Captain Phillips' star explained, "Somebody said, 'Is it too late to change things?' No, it's never too late. It's never too late to learn new behaviours. And that's a responsibility of anybody who wants to obey a code of professional ethics."

Hanks' comments come as the allegations of sexual misconduct in Hollywood continued to intensify in recent weeks.

Following the misconduct allegations surrounding 65-year-old Weinstein, Hollywood stars including Brett Ratner, Louis C.K., and Jeremy Piven have also been accused of abusing their position of power.

Most recently, Matt Lauer was fired from his position as host of the 'Today' show after there was a "detailed complaint by a colleague", who accused Lauer of behaving inappropriately.