by Alyse Wax

Colin Hanks may be the son of Oscar-winning superstar Tom, but he?s not one to simply kick back and enjoy the family fortune. Hanks has played many film roles, a few of which have been in high-profile genre faves. From assisting Jack Black in King Kong to playing a recurring character on the UFO-conspiracy show Roswell, Hanks has cut his chops. The actor?s latest work, opposite Diane Lane (with whom we also scored an exclusive interview) in the horror/thriller Untraceable, finds him playing a top FBI internet agent. Hanks may not be as techno-savvy as his character, but that didn?t stop him from digging into the role and giving us the dirt when we spoke with him last weekend in LA. [Warning: The following interview contains untraceable spoilers. Read on at your own risk!]

Did you do a lot of research for your character?

I did, yeah. Greg [Hoblit, the director], Diane [Lane] and myself spent some time with FBI agents whose jobs are essentially the same as our characters in the film. They are cyber-crimes specialists. They go online, undercover as minors, and catch pedophiles, and various other criminals. That was extremely informative for me, and helped me make my character a little more well-rounded. It would be easy to assume he?s just the guy who cracks jokes. We ended up finding out that with the dark subject matter these agents deal with every day, humor was a great release for them. In terms of partners ragging on each other and cracking jokes, it became very evident between real FBI partners anyway. Once we saw that, I was able to feel much more comfortable in my character.

Are you an internet geek? Do you surf around a lot?

A little bit more and more. I didn?t really get into the internet until a few years ago. When I was in New Zealand for ten months, that sort of forced me to email. Prior to that, I thought the internet was primarily for bored people at work. I?m a little bit more savvy now. I have a few websites I go to, but I am by no means a techno-junkie. If anything, I am going backwards now. I?m collecting records.

Is your character?s internet dating supposed to draw parallels to how the internet has changed people?s lives?

I sort of feel like the internet now is becoming more and more a facet of everyone?s daily life, in almost every respect. This movie is one in a line of many computer thrillers, but this is the first in which all the technology actually exists. Before, it was Matthew Broderick?s computer able to start a nuclear war, or Sandra Bullock?s computer was able to do special things. Whereas it takes me twenty minutes to find that saved document I wrote an hour ago. This is all everyday stuff?chat rooms, websites, things you can access on your phone. This is all stuff that is current. Your computer can do it.

It?s very much a cautionary tale, don?t you agree?

To a degree. I think more than anything, this movie is meant to entertain. I don?t think it?s meant to make any grand statements. It?s supposed to be an entertaining movie, it?s supposed to scare you a little bit. Maybe make you cringe, just a little bit.

Is it ?tortu-tainment??

No, I don?t think so. Those movies... that?s all those movies are about. Those are just about kidnapping and torturing people. I don?t think this film is necessarily about that. It may have a little more of a statement, yes. But it?s not just ?let?s torture these people for two hours.? Our scenes are relatively quick and brief.

What was your time like in that tank [Hanks? torture scene]?

Not fun. It was uncomfortable. That was the first two days of filming, along with the last day. It was very hard for the producer to say, ?Listen, we need one more shot. Can we get you back in that tank before we lose you?? At first I laughed very hard. But that was a perfect example of having to be calm and patient, and very coolly, comfortably telling people ?I?m very uncomfortable right now, can we please fix this??

What was so uncomfortable about sitting on a chair, up to your neck in water?

At first the water was extremely cold. I started shivering and turning blue. Then the water was extremely hot, and I almost passed out. Then I jokingly said, ?We?re going to have to do this again because my nipples won?t match.? I don?t mean to brag, but I think I gained some brownie points with the crew for that [scene]. That could have been a very horrible introduction.

Do you think the premise of Untraceable is something that could happen right now, given the way the internet is?

Yeah. I think the technology is there to be able to do this. It has been happening in the Middle East. I don?t want to get too dark or get on a soapbox or anything, but this stuff has been happening. Live streaming, that I don?t know. But I don?t think it?s far away. You can watch Live 8 streaming.

Do you think this might give some sick people inspiration, or the wrong idea?

I?m not from that school of thought. I think people can come up with their own stupid ideas, and make their own stupid mistakes. I don?t think that movies give them any ideas.

How do you see your career these days? Are you looking for specific parts or genres?

I?m looking to do good work. It doesn?t matter the kind of film or genre, I just want to do good work. That?s the part that I love: the working, just trying to make my way up the ladder. I just like to work.

Would you do a TV series?

If it was the right one, yeah. I would really love to be a part of Mad Men. That is a fascinating era for me, and the attention to detail they give to the era and the characters.

In real life, what?s your greatest fear?

Not getting enough sleep? Honestly, I am extremely afraid of spiders. So much so that I had the theory that I wrote myself out of the spider sequence in King Kong. [Spiders] were the only bad part of New Zealand. Other than that, it was the best ten months of my life.