Tom Hanks Earning Oscar Buzz For Walt Disney Portrayal [Video]

The trailer for Saving Mr. Banks is earning actor Tom Hanks some early Oscar buzz for his performance as entertainment icon Walt Disney.

Hanks stars as Disney in the upcoming film, which chronicles the making of the 1964 Disney classic Mary Poppins. The first trailer for the film debuted Thursday, and you can watch it above.

The film also stars Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman, Rachel Griffiths and Bradley Whitford.

The story sees Hanks as Disney, trying to convince author P.L. Travers (Thompson) to let his studio have the rights to her novel, Mary Poppins.

Saving Mr. Banks is set for release on December 25, and The Huffington Post is throwing Hanks some early Oscar buzz judging by his performance in the trailer.

Interestingly, Hanks was incredibly reluctant to even take on the role in the first place. Playing someone like Walt Disney, who has become a tentpole in Western entertainment, is a pretty big responsibility.

“I don’t want to piss anybody off. I want to be accurate, more than anything else. John Lee Hancock is the director, and it’s really the story of Emma Thompson more than it’s about me, so, you know, I don’t want to screw up,” he said of the role.

Still, he did as much research as possible to fit into the role.

“He’s a fascinating guy, because what we have is this benevolent animator who would introduce us to his cartoon characters. But what he was was very tough, competitive and a very loyal businessman that invented an art form that is still going great guns today.”

Do you think Tom Hanks could snag his sixth Oscar nomination for Saving Mr. Banks?