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IMDbPro

Tom Hanks

  • Producer
  • Actor
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeter
637
Tom Hanks at an event for Larry Crowne (2011)
Take a closer look at the various roles Tom Hanks has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:54
Tom Hanks | Career Retrospective
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California, to Janet Marylyn (Frager), a hospital worker, and Amos Mefford Hanks, an itinerant cook. His mother's family, originally surnamed "Fraga", was entirely Portuguese, while his father was of mostly English ancestry. Tom grew up in what he has called a "fractured" family. He moved around a great deal after his parents' divorce, living with a succession of step-families. No problems, no alcoholism - just a confused childhood. He has no acting experience in college and credits the fact that he could not get cast in a college play with actually starting his career. He went downtown, and auditioned for a community theater play, was invited by the director of that play to go to Cleveland, and there his acting career started.

Ron Howard was working on Splash (1984), a fantasy-comedy about a mermaid who falls in love with a business executive. Howard considered Hanks for the role of the main character's wisecracking brother, which eventually went to John Candy. Instead, Hanks landed the lead role and the film went on to become a surprise box office success, grossing more than $69 million. After several flops and a moderate success with the comedy Dragnet (1987), Hanks' stature in the film industry rose. The broad success with the fantasy-comedy Big (1988) established him as a major Hollywood talent, both as a box office draw and within the film industry as an actor. For his performance in the film, Hanks earned his first Academy Award nomination as Best Actor.

Hanks climbed back to the top again with his portrayal of a washed-up baseball legend turned manager in A League of Their Own (1992). Hanks has stated that his acting in earlier roles was not great, but that he subsequently improved. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hanks noted his "modern era of movie making ... because enough self-discovery has gone on ... My work has become less pretentiously fake and over the top". This "modern era" began for Hanks, first with Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and then with Philadelphia (1993). The former was a blockbuster success about a widower who finds true love over the radio airwaves. Richard Schickel of Time magazine called his performance "charming", and most critics agreed that Hanks' portrayal ensured him a place among the premier romantic-comedy stars of his generation.

In Philadelphia, he played a gay lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination. Hanks lost 35 pounds and thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role. In a review for People, Leah Rozen stated, "Above all, credit for Philadelphia's success belongs to Hanks, who makes sure that he plays a character, not a saint. He is flat-out terrific, giving a deeply felt, carefully nuanced performance that deserves an Oscar." Hanks won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia. During his acceptance speech, he revealed that his high school drama teacher Rawley Farnsworth and former classmate John Gilkerson, two people with whom he was close, were gay.

Hanks followed Philadelphia with the blockbuster Forrest Gump (1994) which grossed a worldwide total of over $600 million at the box office. Hanks remarked: "When I read the script for Gump, I saw it as one of those kind of grand, hopeful movies that the audience can go to and feel ... some hope for their lot and their position in life ... I got that from the movies a hundred million times when I was a kid. I still do." Hanks won his second Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Forrest Gump, becoming only the second actor to have accomplished the feat of winning consecutive Best Actor Oscars.

Hanks' next role - astronaut and commander Jim Lovell, in the docudrama Apollo 13 (1995) - reunited him with Ron Howard. Critics generally applauded the film and the performances of the entire cast, which included actors Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan. The movie also earned nine Academy Award nominations, winning two. Later that year, Hanks starred in Disney/Pixar's computer-animated film Toy Story (1995), as the voice of Sheriff Woody. A year later, he made his directing debut with the musical comedy That Thing You Do! (1996) about the rise and fall of a 1960s pop group, also playing the role of a music producer.

As of 2022, Hanks is 66-years-old. He has never retired from acting, and has remained active in the film industry for more than four decades.
BornJuly 9, 1956
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJuly 9, 1956
IMDbProStarmeter
637
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 2 Oscars

Double Take: Showstopping Biopic Transformations

Double Take: Showstopping Biopic Transformations

We've rounded up some of the best biopic transformations, including Naomi Ackie in I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
See the full gallery
[object Object]
Photos

Photos1715

Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto (2022)
Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump (1994)
Tom Hanks in 1883 (2021)
Tom Hanks and Tim McGraw in 1883 (2021)
Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in Pinocchio (2022)
Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in Pinocchio (2022)
Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in Pinocchio (2022)
Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in Pinocchio (2022)
Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in Pinocchio (2022)
Tom Hanks, Richard Roxburgh, Helen Thomson, and Austin Butler in Elvis (2022)
Tom Hanks in Elvis (2022)
Tom Hanks and Austin Butler in Elvis (2022)

Known for

Tom Hanks in Cast Away (2000)
Cast Away
7.8
  • Producer
  • 2000
Tom Hanks in Big (1988)
Big
7.3
  • Josh
  • 1988
Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump
8.8
  • Forrest Gump
  • 1994
Faysal Ahmed and Barkhad Abdirahman in Captain Phillips (2013)
Captain Phillips
7.8
  • Captain Richard Phillips
  • 2013

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

  • Masters of the Air
    • Completed
  • Here
    • In Production
  • No Better Place to Die
    • In Development
  • Beautiful
    • In Production
  • Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto (2022)
    A Man Called Otto
    • (produced by)
  • 'Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen (2022)
    'Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen
  • My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood (2020)
    My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood
  • The Movies (2019)
    The Movies
  • The 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2019)
    The 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
  • The 2000s (2018)
    The 2000s
  • Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Cher, Andy Garcia, Meryl Streep, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine, Alexa Davies, Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn, and Josh Dylan in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
    Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
  • 1968: The Year That Changed America (2018)
    1968: The Year That Changed America
  • The 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in The Nineties (2017)
    The Nineties
  • The 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2017)
    The 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
  • Madonna in The Eighties (2016)
    The Eighties
  • John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Nia Vardalos, and Elena Kampouris in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)
    My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
  • Meg Ryan, Sam Shepard, Hamish Linklater, Alex Neustaedter, and Jack Quaid in Ithaca (2015)
    Ithaca
  • The Seventies (2015)
    The Seventies

Actor

  • Asteroid City
    • Post-production
  • Here
    • In Production
  • Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto (2022)
    A Man Called Otto
  • Saturday Night Live (1975)
    Saturday Night Live
    • (uncredited)
  • Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in Pinocchio (2022)
    Pinocchio
  • Austin Butler in Elvis (2022)
    Elvis
  • 1883 (2021)
    1883
  • Tom Hanks, Seamus, and Caleb Landry Jones in Finch (2021)
    Finch
  • Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel in News of the World (2020)
    News of the World
  • Big City Greens (2018)
    Big City Greens
    • (voice)
  • Tom Hanks and Elisabeth Shue in Greyhound (2020)
    Greyhound
  • Tom Hanks and Matthew Rhys in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
    A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
  • Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Christina Hendricks, Keegan-Michael Key, Ally Maki, and Jordan Peele in Toy Story 4 (2019)
    Toy Story 4
    • (voice)
  • Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in The Post (2017)
    The Post
  • The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special (2017)
    The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special
    • (voice)
  • Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in The Circle (2017)
    The Circle
  • Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones in Inferno (2016)
    Inferno

Writer

  • Tom Hanks and Elisabeth Shue in Greyhound (2020)
    Greyhound
  • Electric City (2012)
    Electric City
  • Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in Larry Crowne (2011)
    Larry Crowne
  • Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon (2005)
    Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon
  • Donnie Wahlberg, Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor, and Peter Youngblood Hills in Band of Brothers (2001)
    Band of Brothers
  • From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
    From the Earth to the Moon
  • Tom Hanks, Liv Tyler, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, Ethan Embry, and Tom Everett Scott in That Thing You Do! (1996)
    That Thing You Do!
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos226

Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, and 'Elvis' Cast on Misconceptions About Music Icons
Clip 4:06
Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, and 'Elvis' Cast on Misconceptions About Music Icons
Tom Hanks | Career Retrospective
Clip 1:54
Tom Hanks | Career Retrospective
Golden Globes 2020 Get Real, Misty-Eyed, & Political
Clip 3:52
Golden Globes 2020 Get Real, Misty-Eyed, & Political
How Tom Hanks Was Cast as Mr. Rogers for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'
Clip 6:05
How Tom Hanks Was Cast as Mr. Rogers for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'
Oscar Buzz for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'
Clip 3:46
Oscar Buzz for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Break Down Those Final 'Toy Story 4' Scenes
Clip 2:43
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Break Down Those Final 'Toy Story 4' Scenes
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Mix It Up Just Like Woody and Buzz
Clip 2:54
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Mix It Up Just Like Woody and Buzz
Ron Howard - The Power of True Stories
Clip 2:45
Ron Howard - The Power of True Stories
"Security Camera" from Toy Story 3
Clip 1:12
"Security Camera" from Toy Story 3
"Meet Ken" from Toy Story 3
Clip 1:46
"Meet Ken" from Toy Story 3
Toy Story/Toy Story 2: "Space Ranger"
Clip 1:13
Toy Story/Toy Story 2: "Space Ranger"
Toy Story/Toy Story 2: "Case Closed"
Clip 1:58
Toy Story/Toy Story 2: "Case Closed"

Personal details

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  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • July 9, 1956
    • Concord, California, USA
    • Rita WilsonApril 30, 1988 - present (2 children)
    • Colin Hanks
    • Jim Hanks(Sibling)
  • Other works
    11/99: Recorded narration for NY's American Museum of Natural History's first "Space Show" featured in re-opening of modernized Hayden Planetarium.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 3 Print Biographies
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 27 Interviews
    • 58 Articles
    • 9 Pictorials
    • 69 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Enjoys collecting typewriters, purchasing over 80 of them around the globe. His interest in them generated an idea for an iPad application that he developed called Hanx Writer, that simulates antique typewriters sound and feel. It was very successful and made it to to top list on Appstore in August 2014.
  • Quotes
    It's just as hard staying happily married as it is doing movies.
    • Frequently plays ordinary characters in extraordinary situations
    • Toy Story 3
      (2010)
      $15,000,000

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