'Captain Phillips' pirates left Tom Hanks petrified

Actor-filmmaker Tom Hanks was left petrified after he first saw the cast playing the roles of the Somali pirates in his forthcoming film "Captain Phillips".

Director Paul Greengrass ensured that the cast playing the roles of the Somali pirates were kept separated from the rest of the crew in order to boost the authenticity of the situation so that when they meet for the first time the chaos of the situation would play with vigour and genuine emotion.

"We heard them coming and getting closer and closer, their guns firing. And then when they finally came in and burst, I mean, literally burst onto the bridge, we saw these living, breathing guys for the first time. I can tell you, it raised the hair on the back of all of our necks. It was a very, very emotional and visceral moment. We were truly petrified," Hanks said in a statement.

Describing his Somali co-stars, Hanks said: "They are incredibly skinny. They're the thinnest human beings you've ever seen and they're incredibly scary because they were waving automatic weapons and pistols at our faces and screaming at us."

The movie is inspired by the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009 and the 57-year-old will essay the title role in the adventure drama.

"Captain Phillips" releases in India Oct 18.