Tom Hanks movie 'A Man Called Otto' features Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Tom Hanks is no stranger to Northeast Ohio.

And his latest movie "A Man Called Otto" now showing in theaters is no stranger either.

Some of the scenes in the movie were filmed in Cleveland and even in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The filming was a homecoming of sorts for Hanks who was an intern with the Great Lakes Theater Festival in the 1970s and also narrated the name change for the Cleveland Guardians.

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One of the scenes in the movie features a younger Otto, played by Tom Hanks' son Truman, waiting to catch a train.

This scene was filmed at the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad's Brecksville Station on Riverview Road.

The movie also filmed Truman riding the train as it made its way down the tracks through the national park toward Akron.

The filming took place May 3.

Although five cars made up the train, the scenic railroad's No. 15 car was used for the actual filming.

Joe Mazur, president and CEO of the railroad, said the other cars were used for technical gear, food and for the extras during the filming.

"It’s a rare occasion to be a part of a Hollywood movie, much less one that Tom Hanks has had a hand in," he said. "This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad but also the beauty of the national park and the entire Cuyahoga Valley."

Mazur said it was fun for the railroad's workers and volunteers to rub shoulders with actors.

"Truman Hanks was especially friendly and cordial with our volunteers," he said. "They loved it and loved being a part of the production."

Some of the other actors in the film have Cleveland ties too, including former Cleveland-area politician turned actor Peter Lawson Jones, who plays Reuben.

'Otto' was intended to be filmed in Ohio, lost out to Pittsburgh

Bill Garvey, president of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, said the film was primarily filmed in and around Pittsburgh.

“'Otto' is an example of Ohio’s lost opportunity," he said. "This is a project that intended to film in Ohio. It scouted filming locations in Ohio in the fall of 2020. It was only when it was not awarded Ohio tax credit because the cap had been already reached that it pivoted to Pittsburgh."

Garvey said this along with other films with a combined budget of $224.5 million were lost to the likes of Chicago, Georgia, Massachusetts, Louisiana and other states.

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To better compete, Garvey said, he believes Ohio needs to take a fresh look at its incentives to attract television and movie productions.

"Studios directly spent $220.2 billion last year on production worldwide," he said. "The annual spending on production has exploded in the last five years.  Along with that spending comes jobs ...

"It’s important that Ohioans know how much out of state investment is being pushed away from Ohio, and how many jobs go with it."

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tom Hanks 'A Man Called Otto' features Cuyahoga Valley National Park