Los Angeles, Sep 27 (IANS): Actor Tom Hanks, known for portraying real life characters in his movies, will essay the title role in a forthcoming adventure drama "Captain Phillips", based on a true incident.

The movie is inspired by the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009. Hanks, who has starred in movies like "Catch Me If You Can" and "Terminal", says he is "constantly fascinated by non-fiction entertainment".

"I'm the type of guy that reads the newspaper and sees a story that really happened and says, ‘Well, this is better than most movies'," Hanks said in a statement.

He has his reasons for taking up "Captain Phillips".

"We've seen quite a few fictionalised versions of what can happen when bad guys try to take over a ship or a plane, but because this is a real event, it presents one of the biggest challenges a filmmaker can face, which is: what really happened and how do we make that so gripping that it warrants holding a place in commercial entertainment?"

Directed by Paul Greengrass, "Captain Phillips" recounts the true life ordeal of Richard Phillips, the captain of a US-flagged cargo ship, the MV Maersk Alabama, sailing with a 20-man crew and 17,000 metric tonnes of cargo that was bound for Kenya in April 2009 when it was hijacked by four Somali pirates.

The biopic is based on the memoirs of Captain Richard Phillips who was at the helm of the ship and was taken hostage by the pirates, who fled the Maersk aboard one of the vessel's lifeboats.

"Captain Phillips" releases in India Oct 18.