Los Angeles [US], August 9 : Tom Hanks paid a tribute to Jim Lovell, the Apollo 13 commander whose bravery in space inspired one of the actor's most celebrated roles.
Lovell, who died on Thursday, was remembered by Hanks as a man who not only explored the far reaches of space but also inspired people to push beyond their limits.
Hanks, who played Lovell in the 1995 film Apollo 13, took to Instagram to reflect on the late astronaut's remarkable life and career. He described Lovell as someone who dared, dreamed, and led others to places they might never have gone alone.
"There are people who dare, who dream and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy," Hanks wrote on his post. "His many voyages around Earth and on to so-very-close to the moon were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive and who better than Jim Lovell to make those voyages," read his Instagram post.
"On this night of a full moon, he passes on to the heavens, to the cosmos, to the stars. Godspeed you, on this next voyage, Jim Lovell," the post continued.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lovell's story was famously brought to the big screen in Apollo 13, which followed the harrowing 1970 mission that was cut short after an oxygen tank explosion. Alongside Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), Lovell fought to return safely to Earth. The film won two Oscars and earned a nomination for Best Picture, with Hanks' line "Houston, we have a problem" becoming one of the most iconic in movie history.
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