“The Da Vinci Code” star Tom Hanks says it was “hooey”

Christian scholars criticized Dan Brown’s book “The Da Vinci Code” and the ones that followed as historically inaccurate. It turns out that Tom Hanks, who starred in the movies based on the books, agrees.

“Oh, God, that was a commercial enterprise,” Hanks told “ The New York Times.” “Yeah, those Robert Langdon sequels are hooey. ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was hooey. I mean, Dan Brown, God bless him, says, `Here is a sculpture in a place in Paris! No, it’s way over there. See how a cross is formed on a map? Well, it’s sort of a cross.’”

The accuracy of those theories is laughable, he said. While the trilogy, directed by Ron Howard, saw commercial success, most movie-goers panned them as boring, if not laughable.

READ: Debunking myths about Mary Magdalene

“Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage,” Hanks said. “But they’re as cynical as a crossword puzzle. All we were doing is promising a diversion There’s nothing wrong with good commerce, provided it is good commerce. By the time we made the third one, we proved that it wasn’t such good commerce.”

The original book and film of “The Da Vinci Code” series elicited harsh criticism from the Catholic Church and evangelical leaders for the supposition that a cover-up had been implemented over a marriage between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene and that they had borne a daughter. Criticism also was leveled for the portrayal of the Catholic organizations Priory of Sion and Opus Dei. Some members of the Catholic Church urged a boycott of the film.

“Let me tell you something else about ‘The Da Vinci Code,’” Hanks said. “It was my 40th-something birthday. We were shooting in the Louvre at night. I changed my pants in front of the Mona Lisa! They brought me a birthday cake in the Grand Salon! Who gets to have that experience? Any cynicism there?”