History Creator / TomHanks

Going into the '90s, Hanks' career took a sharp swerve as he began turning in critically-acclaimed dramatic performances, earning him back-to-back [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActorInALeadingRole Oscars for Best Actor]] for his portrayal of the dying Andrew Beckett in ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'' and the simple-but-well-meaning ''Film/ForrestGump''. Since then, his career has been eclectic, with his starring in films that run the gamut from comedy (''[[Film/TheLadykillers2004 The Ladykillers]]'') and children's films (''Franchise/ToyStory'') to heavy drama (''Film/RoadToPerdition''), science fiction (''Film/CloudAtlas''), and even his own blockbuster action franchise (''Film/TheDaVinciCode'' and its sequels).

* ''Film/{{Big}}'' (1988) - First UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination as Best Actor.

* ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'' (1993) - First UsefulNotes/AcademyAward win for Best Actor.
* ''Film/ForrestGump'' (1994) - Second UsefulNotes/AcademyAward win for Best Actor

Hanks is also a well-known space nerd and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII history buff; these interests are reflected in his career, with his having starred in ''{{Film/Apollo 13}}'', ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'', and ''Film/{{Greyhound}}'', as well as having produced ''Series/FromTheEarthToTheMoon'', ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', and ''Series/ThePacific''.

* ConvertingForLove: Although raised Catholic (and later as a Mormon once his father Amos remarried), Hanks converted to Greek Orthodox Christianity before marrying Creator/RitaWilson.[[note]]Rita Wilson herself was raised Greek Orthodox, since her mother Dorothea Tzigkou is Greek. Interestingly, Rita's father Allan Wilson (who was born Hassan Ibrahimoff) converted from Islam to Greek Orthodox Christianity upon marrying Rita's mother.[[/note]]

** Even the late Moshe Mizrahi who directed Tom Hanks in the 1986 romantic war drama ''Film/EveryTimeWeSayGoodbye'' went so far as to call Tom Hanks a ''[[https://www.haaretz.com/1.4912521 mensch]]''.[[note]]A Yiddish word for "good person"[[/note]]

* CreatorsFavorite: When Tom Hanks was asked in a 2021 episode of [[https://youtu.be/Ix6dw8GHPhE?si=Iiwnjby2h15KbQ0G&t=28s “The Bill Simmons Podcast”]] to list his three favorite movies from his filmography, he responded with ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'', ''Film/CastAway'', and ''Film/CloudAtlas''.[[note]]Tom Hanks’ ranking of those three movies are more based on his ''personal experiences making those movies'' than according to the way those three movies came out.[[/note]]

His son Creator/ColinHanks is also an actor, producer, and director.

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and director who is regarded as being one of the best performers of his generation.

* StarDerailingRole: ''Literature/TheBonfireOfTheVanities'' was '''nearly''' this for Tom Hanks, so much so that he took a 19-month break from acting in order to re-evaluate his career decisions as well as spend time with his family. It also didn't help that his previous movie had been the similiarly unsuccessful ''Film/JoeVersusTheVolcano''. A year and a half later, Hanks returned to acting and redeemed himself with films like ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'', ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'', and ''Film/ForrestGump''[[note]]the latter two earned Hanks two back-to-back Oscars[[/note]]. Of course, [[Film/Apollo13 the]] [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 rest]] [[Film/SavingPrivateRyan is]] [[Film/CastAway history]].

* HappilyMarried: Although heavily averted for Tom's first wife Samantha Lewes (whom he married in 1978 and later divorced in 1987), it's played straight for his second wife Rita Wilson, whom he's been married to for ''33 years now.''

-->-- Tom Hanks on his {{Website/Twitter}} [[https://twitter.com/tomhanks account]].

He began his career in comedies like ''Series/HappyDays'' and ''Series/BosomBuddies'' where he displayed a flair for timing and physical comedy. Quickly moving onto film, he became well-known for lighthearted comedies like ''{{Film/Splash}}'' and ''Film/{{Big}}'' as well as romantic films. In the latter genre, he's famously one half of ThoseTwoActors with Creator/MegRyan, having starred as her love interest in three films[[note]]''Film/JoeVersusTheVolcano'', ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'', and ''Film/YouveGotMail''[[/note]].

Going into the nineties, Hanks' career took a sharp swerve as he began turning in critically-acclaimed dramatic performances, earning him back-to-back Oscars for his portrayal of the dying Andrew Beckett in ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'' and the simple-but-well-meaning ''Film/ForrestGump''. Since then, his career has been eclectic, with his starring in films that run the gamut from comedy (''Film/TheLadykillers2004''), children's films (''Franchise/ToyStory''), heavy drama (''Film/RoadToPerdition''), science fiction (''Film/CloudAtlas''), and even his own blockbuster action franchise (''Film/TheDaVinciCode'' and its sequels).

He is a well-known space nerd and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII history buff and these interests are reflected in his career, with his having starred in ''{{Film/Apollo 13}}'', ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'', and ''Film/{{Greyhound}}''. As well as having produced ''Series/FromTheEarthToTheMoon'', ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', and ''Series/ThePacific''.

He's hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' ten times (his fifth time hosting, in 1990, was the episode in which the "Five-Timers Club" was revealed, while his ninth, in 2016, introduced his well-known "David S. Pumpkins" character) and ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe'' once to rave reviews each time. He runs his own studio called Playtone, named after the music label in his self-produced ''Film/ThatThingYouDo''. [[JustForFun/OneOfUs He's also a big enough fan of both]] Music/TheBeatles and Creator/MontyPython that he got to sing "The Lumberjack Song" (as one of the Lumberjacks) in the ''Concert for George'', the memorial concert celebrating the life of Music/GeorgeHarrison. He also appeared in the video for Music/CarlyRaeJepsen's song "I Really Like You" - contrary to many rumours it was actually ''his'' idea to take the role.

''And'' to top it all off, he is the TropeNamer for TomHanksSyndrome, being the most famous and successful example of an actor being able to break away from TypeCasting and showing the world SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct.

* ConvertingForLove: Although raised Catholic (and later as a Mormon once his father Amos remarried), Hanks converted to Greek Orthodox Christianity before marrying Creator/RitaWilson.[[note]]Rita Wilson herself was raised Greek Orthodox, since her mother Dorothea Tzigkou is Greek. Interestingly, Rita’s father Allan Wilson (who was born Hassan Ibrahimoff) converted from Islam to Greek Orthodox Christianity upon marrying Rita’s mother.[[/note]]

** When asked in an interview what film he wished he could remove from his resume, his response was ''Film/TheManWithOneRedShoe''. He even went as far as calling it “a dog”.
*** When Tom Hanks was asked in a [[https://www.davidsheff.com/tom-hanks 1989 interview with “Playboy”]] to give his thoughts on “The Man With One Red Shoe”, he had this to say:
--->”Not a very good movie. It doesn’t have any real, clear focus to it. It isn’t about anything particularly that you can honestly understand. It made no money at all.“

* HappilyMarried: Although heavily averted for Tom’s first wife Samantha Lewes (whom he married in 1978 and later divorced in 1987), it’s played straight for his second wife Rita Wilson, whom he’s been married to for ''33 years now.''

-->"I think it’s because there are a lot of writers who aren’t very attractive but who are fairly funny and ''want'' to have sex a lot, so they write about these guys who are not very attractive, but they’re funny and ''do'' have sex a lot. So I guess I’m the [[AuthorAvatar chief beneficiary]] of that. It's not like I say, 'I'd like to do this movie...but I've got to have sex more often'."

* OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: Comedian Christopher Titus once put it best: "Tom Hanks has so many good karma points he could punch a nun and your first thought would be 'What did that bitch do to Tom Hanks?!?'"

* OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: Comedian Christopher Titus once put it best: “Tom Hanks has so many good karma points he could punch a Nun and your first thought would be “What did that bitch do to Tom Hanks?!?”.”

He's hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' nine times (his fifth time hosting, in 1990, was the episode in which the "Five-Timers Club" was revealed) and ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe'' once to rave reviews each time. He runs his own studio called Playtone, named after the music label in his self-produced ''Film/ThatThingYouDo''. [[JustForFun/OneOfUs He's also a big enough fan of both]] Music/TheBeatles and Creator/MontyPython that he got to sing "The Lumberjack Song" (as one of the Lumberjacks) in the ''Concert for George'', the memorial concert celebrating the life of Music/GeorgeHarrison. He also appeared in the video for Music/CarlyRaeJepsen's song "I Really Like You" - contrary to many rumours it was actually ''his'' idea to take the role.

He's hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' nine times (his fifth time hosting, in 1990, was the episode in which the "Five Timers' Club" was revealed) and ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe'' once to rave reviews each time. He runs his own studio called Playtone, named after the music label in his self-produced ''Film/ThatThingYouDo''. [[JustForFun/OneOfUs He's also a big enough fan of both]] Music/TheBeatles and Creator/MontyPython that he got to sing "The Lumberjack Song" (as one of the Lumberjacks) in the ''Concert for George'', the memorial concert celebrating the life of Music/GeorgeHarrison. He also appeared in the video for Music/CarlyRaeJepsen's song "I Really Like You" - contrary to many rumours it was actually ''his'' idea to take the role.

* ''[[Film/PinocchioDisney2022 Pinocchio]]'' (2022)