Hanks more chilled as director than ever before

Tom Hanks was not as worried about directing and starring in 'Larry Crowne' as in previous directing attempts.

The 'Toy Story' actor - who was at the helm of two episodes of TV miniseries 'Band of Brothers' - admitted he was concerned about "less things" this time around, and he felt it was easier to talk to department bosses.

Speaking at the UK premiere of 'Larry Crowne' at the Vue Westfield, London, he said: "I was worried about less things because my powers of communication, my skills of talking to all the department heads were a little bit better than last time around.

"It's such a personal thing that I can't really delineate between the work and the social aspect of making the movie. We had a great time, we were around great people."

Hanks - who stars alongside Julia Roberts in the movie - admitted he found it tough to say goodbye to some of his fellow cast members at the end of filming, because they felt like "family" to him.

He added: "We were shooting the scenes in the classroom and I had to say goodbye to all those crews, I was kind of bummed out. I had to say bye to people every week who had become like family to me."

The movie - which is set to be released on July 1 - tells the story of Larry (Tom), who loses his job at a store and goes back to college to reinvent himself, where he falls in love with his teacher Mercedes Tainot (Julia).

Other stars to attend the premiere included Sophie Ellis Bextor - who performed at the event - and TV personality Kerry Katona.