Off Script
The first time Forrest meets Bubba, Bubba introduces himself by saying, “My given name is Benjamin Buford Blue, but people call me Bubba. Just like one of them ol’ redneck boys. Can you believe that?” After that, Gump just replies, “My name’s Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.” As it turns out, the line was improvised by Hanks, but the director loved it and decided to keep it in the final cut.
Off Script
Inspiration
While his run across the country wasn’t inspired by real events, there is one line of dialogue that was inspired by a little kid. It came from a boy named Louis Michael Figueroa. In 1982, the 16-year-old ran from New Jersey to San Francisco to raise money for the American Cancer Society. When people asked him how he managed to do it, he said: “I just put one foot in front of the other. If I get tired, I sleep. When I get hungry, I eat. When I have to go to the bathroom, I go.”
Inspiration
