AlamySir David Attenborough has been long synonymous with BBC natural history shows[/caption]
APTom Hanks is narrating an upcoming BBC nature documentary[/caption]
GettyHe won Oscars for his roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump[/caption]
But in a surprising career move, Tom Hanks is providing the voiceover for a new ten-part nature series.
The star, 68, will narrate The Americas – a project which has been five years in the making.
Filmed over 180 expeditions, The Americas explores wildlife on the Atlantic coast.
This includes Mexico, the Amazon, the Gulf coast, the Caribbean, the West coast and Patagonia.
In addition, the Wild West, the frozen North and the Andes will also be covered.
The programme will be airing on BBC One later this year.
Toby Gorman, an executive behind the series, said: “We asked ourselves, who is the American version of David Attenborough?
“When we embarked on this we wanted to go as big as possible and after some conversations we said internally that there was a list of one: Tom Hanks.”
The Americas is a co-production between BBC Studios and NBCUniversal.
Meanwhile, Tom isn’t the only actor following in Sir David’s footsteps.
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Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville, 61, played Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in the ITV historical drama.