As a young man, even if I was going to see a play or a film by myself, I didn’t feel like I was alone. There was something that was unfolding up there that brought me into it. And I recognised that. For those two hours, it made me feel like I belonged to something really good.

Hanks describes the peculiar social power of performance: even in solitude, a viewer can feel accompanied by the shared attention, emotion, and narrative structure created onstage or onscreen. The “unfolding” action becomes a temporary community—an experience larger than the self—that offers belonging and moral or aesthetic uplift (“something really good”). Implicitly, the quote frames art not as escapism but as participation: for a set duration, the audience member is integrated into a meaningful order of events and values. It also hints at why cinema and theatre can be formative for young people, providing identity, connection, and aspiration when ordinary life may feel isolating.