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Colin Hanks debuted his new documentary about John Candy at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, Sept. 4
The John Candy: I Like Me director knew the late actor when he was a child; his father, Tom Hanks, befriended Candy when they made the 1984 movie Splash
The younger Hanks tells PEOPLE that Candy, who died in 1994, “made you feel heard and that’s a special thing for a little kid to feel”
Colin Hanks has unique insight into what John Candy was really like.
The actor and filmmaker, 47, who debuted his new documentary about the late comedian, John Candy: I Like Me, at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, Sept. 4, met the Uncle Buck star when he was a boy. His father, Tom Hanks, starred with Candy in the 1984 romantic comedy Splash.
Asked if he has a favorite memory that illustrates the type of man Candy was, Hanks tells PEOPLE, “Not so much a specific memory, but really just a feeling. He just really made you feel unique. He made you feel heard and that’s a special thing for a little kid to feel like you actually matter and your opinion matters.”
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From Left: Jennifer Candy, Ryan Reynolds, Colin Hanks and Christopher Candy in Toronto on Sept. 4, 2025
“So really more than anything else is the way John made me feel and he made everybody feel that way, pretty much everyone he interacted with,” he adds.
Candy, who rose to fame on Canada’s SCTV before making films like Stripes, The Great Outdoors and Summer Rental, died at age 43 in 1994. He is survived by his wife, Rose, and their two children, Chris and Jennifer, all of whom participate in the documentary.
Candy’s other colleagues and friends, including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Macaulay Culkin, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin and the elder Hanks, also shared stories and memories of the beloved actor.
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From Left: Tom Hanks and John Candy in ‘Splash’
Candy’s daughter, Jennifer — a co-executive producer on the movie along with Chris — tells PEOPLE that working on the film brought up lots of feelings. “It was emotional and cathartic and it was, you know, going down memory lane and kind of piecing all the puzzle pieces together to make this great story that we were able to share with the world,” she says.
During a Q&A after the show with TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, producer Ryan Reynolds and Hanks talked about wrangling the talent — and how it was one of the most difficult parts of the project.
“I did terrible things to get Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. And Macauley,” joked Reynolds, 48. “They don’t do interviews.
Universal
From Left: Macaulay Culkin and John Candy in ‘Uncle Buck’
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“Dan, I couldn’t find for two months. No one could. Finally I get through, I get a call, and he just gets right to it: ‘I tell you what, kid. You come up here, you eat dinner, you spend the night. The next morning, we’ll do the interview and you get the f— out,’ ” he said, imitating the Ghostbusters actor.
Reynolds also said he enlisted his 2-year-old son to make a video message to get Murray to sit for an interview.
John Candy: I Like Me debuts Friday, Oct. 10 on Prime Video.
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