Tom Hanks has recalled the "magnificent" experience he had filming 1998's Saving Private Ryan in Co. Wexford.
The award-winning star described his time shooting dramatic scenes on Curracloe Beach as "magic and wonderful.
Speaking to RTÉ's Stephen Byrne the much-loved actor, who is reprising his role as Woody in Toy Story 4, remembered, in particular, a young Irish boy that made a big impression on him during his time in the sunny south-east.
"There was one day I was sitting in a car," Hanks explained.
"This young boy comes up and he's got his wellington boots on and he's walking along and walks by and he sees me in the car, and he keeps going but then circles back, so I'm thinking he's coming to say 'Hello, Mr. Hanks…'
"So I rolled down the window and I said, 'Hey, how you doing?' and he said to me, 'Are you with the film?' and I said, 'Yeah, I am' and he said, 'Ah, well, welcome to Screen' and he mosied right along in."
He continued: "And it's funny, it was the most magnificent thing... we would go to work on Monday mornings and all the pint glasses outside the bars in Gorey town, on the tables and the window sills, and I was like, if this was America these would all be stolen, but here they just finish them and put them down.
"It was a magic and wonderful time."
In Toy Story 4, which hits cinemas on Friday, June 21, Hanks is back as Sheriff Woody, and the film's director Josh Cooley remembered the "powerful" moment his final lines for the film were recorded.
"In the room it was pretty powerful," Cooley said. "We did a couple lines and Tom was like, 'Ok what's next' and I said, 'I think that's it' and he was like, 'That's it?' and I was like, 'Yeah, I think we're done' and everybody in the room was just like…
"Then Tom said he just wanted to thank everyone so much, that the character has meant so much to him and his family and so it was a huge moment."
Read Next: Toy Story 4 review
Watch our full interview with Josh Cooley here:
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We also spoke to Toy Story 4 producers Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera:
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Toy Story 4 hits cinemas on Friday, June 21.
