Tom Hanks, who plays the character Robert Langdon in the controversial new film Angels & Demons, has described the plot as “playing fast and loose with the truth”.

The plot of the film sees a secret society known as the Illuminati try to destroy the Vatican in order to take revenge for a massacre against its members by the Catholic Church.

The film is the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, which claimed that the Church covered up Jesus’ secret marriage to Mary Magdalene.

Leaders within the Catholic Church have already condemned the film as offensive to Catholics. The Catholic Bishop of Nottingham, the Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon described the film as “total rubbish” and “far removed from the truth", reports The Telegraph.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Tom Hanks, 52, said of the film, "Why would I hand this gig to someone else? I'm not stupid. If you can make sense of The Da Vinci Code, you realise Langdon is a highly intelligent, interdisciplinary genius, and that's the sort of part selfish actors try to land.

"We play fast and loose with an awful lot of fact, but a trickle of authenticity makes it plausible. It's not important, but it's fun."

Hanks also spoke of how the previous film, The Da Vinci Code, was not well received by critics.

He said, "The movie did OK with its faked contrivances and goofy hunt through the Priory of Sion, but you should have been in Cannes with us when it opened. The reception couldn't have been worse. Everyone slunk out of town with their heads between their shoulders.

"We called it the 'Bonfire of the Unsold Tickets'. Everything ended up in its proper perspective, which usually happens. The audience wins out.”