Fans left stunned after discovering who Tom Hanks played in The Polar Express

When it comes to Christmas classics there's certainly no shortage of options, and The Polar Express is a staple of festive viewing.

The film follows the adventures of a group of children on their way to the North Pole on the titular train.

Released all the way back in 2004, the movie is in the Guinness World Records for the first feature film to be made entirely using performance capture technology.

Performance capture had previously been used to create characters such as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but The Polar Express was the first time it had been used for a whole film.

Unfortunately, most people agree that the visuals have aged terribly.

Far Out Magazine writes: "Taking a trip down the infamously terrifying uncanny valley, The Polar Express struggles to reflect the real-life emotions and facial expressions of a human character, instead opting for poor-quality renders that suggest nothing behind the glazed eyes of the main cast."

Most viewers will remember Tom Hanks as the conductor on the Polar Express who guides and supports the children as the train makes its journey to the North Pole.

But people are just discovering that's not the only role he played.

Warner Bros

Warner Bros

Fans were left stunned by Hanks' versatility in the movie, and while many twigged his voice as the conductor many didn't realise just how many parts he played.

One made an interesting observation, writing: "Tom Hanks played all the characters including Santa because the kid was dreaming, they were the same person."

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Another posted: "So Tom Hanks played everyone."

A third replied: "The fact [that] half the characters were all Tom Hanks shows his acting talent."

Hanks plays a total of six different parts in the movie.

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

These are the adult Hero Boy, Hero Boy's father, the conductor, a 'hobo', Scrooge and Santa Claus.

Sounds exhausting.

For his part, or parts, Hanks confessed: "It was ridiculously challenging, but in a very very good way."

As for why Hanks plays so many parts, the people on X saying it was because it's all a dream are bang on the money.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

In a behind the scenes clip, director Robert Zemeckis said: "This [story] is sort of a dream. The characters that have gone on this journey with [the Hero Boy] are characters that are kind of, memories from his real life."

So there you have it, that's the reason why there are several nightmarish versions of Tom hanks aboard the Polar Express.