Encyclopedia
Thomas "Tom" Jeffrey Hanks is a two-time
Academy Award-winning
American actor, voice-over artist and movie producer who starred in family-friendly and screwball comedies before achieving notable success as a dramatic actor. As of September 24, 2006, Hanks is the highest-grossing "lead" actor of all time, with a combined gross of over
USD$3.3 billion and an worldwide gross of nearly $6 billion. He is also co-owner of Playtone, a film production company.
Hanks's early life
Hanks was born in
Concord, California, to Amos Mefford Hanks, a Southern cook of
English and
Welsh heritage, and Janet Merilyn Frager, a hospital worker who was also of mostly
English descent. As a child, Hanks experienced a wandering, middleclass life with neither ambition nor talent much in evidence. By the time he was five, his parents had separated. They remarried several times before divorcing for good. His father later married an Asian woman with a large family. "Everybody in my family likes each other," Hanks told
Rolling Stone is an American [i] magazine [i] devoted to music [i], politics [i] and popular culture [i] ...
. "But there were always about fifty people at the house. I didn't exactly feel like an outsider, but I was sort of outside of it." When his parents divorced, Hanks, his older brother Larry, and his sister went off with their father, a roving cook who rambled through various cities until settling in
Oakland,
California, when Tom was eight. His younger brother stayed with his mother.
In school, Hanks also was unremarkable. "I was a geek, a spaz," he told
Rolling Stone. "I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy. At the same time, I was the guy who'd yell out funny captions during filmstrips. But I didn't get into trouble. I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible." Although he acted in a few school plays , acting never seemed a real possibility until Hanks transferred from
San Francisco Bay Area junior college Chabot College to
Sacramento State University. "Acting classes looked like the best place for a guy who liked to make a lot of noise and be rather flamboyant," Hanks told
New York. "I spent a lot of time going to plays. I wouldn't take dates with me. I'd just drive to a theater, buy myself a ticket, sit in the seat, and read the program, and then get into the play completely. I spent a lot of time like that, seeing
Bertolt Brecht,
Tennessee Williams,
Henrik Ibsen, and all that."
It was during these acting classes that Hanks met Vincent Dowling, head of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in
Cleveland. At Dowling's suggestion, Hanks became an intern at the Festival, which stretched into a three-year experience that covered everything from lighting to set design to stage management. Such a commitment required that Hanks drop out of college. But by the end of the three years, he had decided that he wanted to become an actor. Part of the bug was due to the Cleveland Critics Circle Award, which he won as best actor for his performance as
Proteus in Shakespeare's
Two Gentlemen of Verona, one of the few times he played a villain.
Career
Early roles
In 1978 he moved to
New York City, where he married actress-producer Samantha Lewes. Nine years and a son and daughter later they were divorced, but Hanks still sees his children regularly. While in
New York City, Hanks acted for the Riverside Shakespeare Company. In addition, he made his film debut in a low-budget
slasher film and got a part in a television movie entitled
Mazes and Monsters is a made-for-TV movie [i] about a group of college [i] students ...
. He continued to audition and finally landed a role on an ABC television pilot called
Bosom Buddies was an American [i] sitcom [i] starring Tom Hanks [i] a...
. "It was flukesville," Hanks told
Newsweek is a weekly newsmagazine [i] published in New York City [i] and distributed throughout the ...
about the show. Hanks flew to
Los Angeles,
California where he was teamed with
Peter Scolari as a pair of young ad men forced to dress as women so they could live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. The series ran for two seasons, and, although the ratings were never strong, television critics gave the program high marks. "The first day I saw him on the set," the show's co-producer Ian Praiser told
Rolling Stone is an American [i] magazine [i] devoted to music [i], politics [i] and popular culture [i] ...
, "I thought, 'Too bad he won't be in television for long.' I knew he'd be a movie star in two years." But if Praiser knew it, he was not able to convince Hanks. "The television show had come out of nowhere," Hanks's best friend Tom Lizzio told
Rolling Stone. "Then out of nowhere it got cancelled. He figured he'd be back to pulling ropes and hanging lights in a theater."
But it was
Bosom Buddies and a cameo appearance on an episode of "Happy Days" that drew director
Ron Howard to contact Hanks. Howard was working on
Splash, a romantic comedy about a mermaid who falls in love with a human. At first, Howard considered Hanks for the role of the main character's wisecracking brother, a role which eventually went to
John Candy. Hanks instead got the lead and a career boost from
Splash, which went on to become a box-office hit, grossing more than $69 million.
Period of hits and misses
More comedies followed, but none clicked with audiences. With
Nothing in Common —about a young man alienated from his parents who must re-establish a relationship with his father, played by
Jackie Gleason—Hanks began to establish the credentials of not only a comic actor but of someone who could carry a serious role. "It changed my desires about working in movies," Hanks told
Rolling Stone. "Part of it was the nature of the material, what we were trying to say. But besides that, it focused on people's relationships. The story was about a guy and his father, unlike, say,
The Money Pit, where the story is really about a guy and his house."
After three more flops, Hanks succeeded again with
Big is a 1988 [i] comedy film [i] about a teenage boy who is aged to adulthood by a magical fortune- ...
, both at the box office and within the industry, establishing Hanks as a major
Hollywood talent. "It's not easy being successful in this town," his friend Scolari told
Rolling Stone, "particularly for a man of conscience. You get fed a steady diet of adulation. You get fed things that aren't necessarily bad or poisonous or toxic in any way. But they're not really on your meal plan. You have to stop and say, 'Wait a minute—I didn't order this.' You have to take your life by the horns. You have responsibilities that have nothing to do with being an actor. Tom Hanks has dealt with his success. I have never known him to be happier."
Despite this success, Hanks's choice of roles again landed him in trouble with another string of box-office failures. First
The 'Burbs , then
Joe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 [i] comedy [i] film [i] starring Tom Hanks [i] and Meg Ryan [i] ...
, and finally the colossal bomb
The Bonfire of the Vanities , which saw Hanks as a greedy
Wall Street type who gets enmeshed in a hit-and-run accident.
Progression into dramatic roles
Hanks again climbed back to the top with his portrayal of an unsuccessful
baseball manager in
A League of Their Own . In an interview with
Vanity Fair is a novel [i] by William Makepeace Thackeray [i] that satirizes [i] ...
, Hanks called the work that he's done since
League his "modern era of moviemaking ... because enough self-discovery has gone on.... My work has become less pretentiously fake."
This "modern era" welcomed in a spectacular 1993 for Hanks, first with
Sleepless in Seattle and then with
Philadelphia. The former was a summer smash about a widower who finds true love over the airwaves. Richard Schickel of
Time called his performance "charming," and most agreed that his portrayal ensured him a place among the premiere romantic-comedy stars of his generation. But it was in the latter film that Hanks truly made his mark. Playing a
gay lawyer with
AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination, Hanks proved that he had the depth and talent to be one of the greats. In a review for
People, Leah Rozen praised Hanks's skill: "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." And Hanks' peers agreed, honoring him with the 1994
Academy Award for best actor.
Forrest Gump
Hanks followed
Philadelphia with the 1994 summer blockbuster hit
Forrest Gump. The film is a bittersweet tale of a simple-minded young man who finds himself in the middle of most of the major events of recent American history. In the process, the character's very real wisdom shines through and positively affects the lives that he touches. In
Vanity Fair is a novel [i] by William Makepeace Thackeray [i] that satirizes [i] ...
, the film's director
Robert Zemeckis praised Hanks's performance: "[Hanks] brings to this role what any great actor does—and I mean great actor—which is a real honesty."
In the same article, Hanks explained what appealed to him about the script: "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." What Hanks also got from his performance in the movie was a 1995
Academy Award, his second for best actor. In winning back-to-back Oscars, Hanks became only the second actor to have accomplished the feat.
Apollo 13
Hanks's next project reunited him with director Ron Howard in a
movie about
Apollo 13, in which he played astronaut and commander James Lovell. In 1970,
Apollo 13 was on its way to the
Moon when an oxygen tank exploded, and the spacecraft almost failed to return to Earth. Critics applauded the film and the performances of the entire cast, which included actors Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton,
Gary Sinise,
Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan.
1998 and on
Hanks turned to the role of executive producer for the
HBO docudrama
From the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fiction [i] story written in 1865 [i] by Jules Verne [i] ...
. The twelve-part series chronicles the space program from its inception, through the familiar flights of
Neil Armstrong and
Jim Lovell, to the personal feelings surrounding the reality of moon landings. The
Emmy Award-winning $68 million project is one of the most expensive ventures taken for television. Hanks' next project was no less expensive. He teamed up with
Steven Spielberg to make a film about
D-Day, the landing at
Omaha Beach, and a quest through war-torn
France to bring back a soldier who has a ticket home.
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 [i] Academy Award [i] winning film [i], di ...
earned the praise and respect of the film community, critics, and the general public; it was labeled one of the finest war films ever made, earning Spielberg his second
Academy Award for direction and Hanks a Best Actor nomination. Later in 1998, Hanks co-starred with his
Sleepless in Seattle counterpart
Meg Ryan for another romantic comedy. The two made
You've Got Mail, a remake of the 1940 movie
The Shop Around the Corner which starred
Jimmy Stewart and
Margaret Sullavan.
In 1999, Hanks starred in an adaptation of
Stephen King's novel
The Green Mile. The following year he won a
Golden Globe for Best Actor and an Academy nomination for his portrayal of a shipwrecked
FedEx systems analyst in
Robert Zemeckis'
Cast Away is a 2000 [i] film [i] by 20th Century Fox [i] and DreamWorks [i] about a FedEx [i] ...
. In 2001, Hanks helped direct and produce the acclaimed HBO mini-series
Band of Brothers. He also appeared in the September 11 television special
and the documentary
Rescued From the Closet.
Next he teamed up with
American Beauty director
Sam Mendes for the adaptation of
Max Allan Collins' and Richard Piers Rayner's graphic novel
Road to Perdition, in which he played an anti-hero role as a hitman on the run with his son. That same year, Hanks collaborated with director Spielberg again, starring opposite
Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit crime-comedy
Catch Me if You Can, based on the true story of
Frank Abagnale, Jr.Hanks was subsequently absent from films until 2004, when he appeared in three films: The
Coen Brothers'
The Ladykillers is a 1955 [i] British film [i]. ...
, yet another Spielberg helmed film
The Terminal, and
The Polar Express, a family picture from
Robert Zemeckis.
In a
USA Weekend interview, Hanks talked about how he chooses projects: "[Since]
A League of Their Own, it can't be just another movie for me. It has to get me going somehow.... There has to be some all-encompassing desire or feeling about wanting to do that particular movie. I'd like to assume that I'm willing to go down any avenue in order to do it right."
He became the youngest ever recipient of the
American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award on June 12, 2002.
In August 2005 Hanks was voted in as vice-president of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Hanks also starred in the highly anticipated film
The Da Vinci Code is a mystery [i]/detective [i] novel [i] by American [i] ...
, based on the bestselling novel by
Dan Brown. The film was released May 19 2006 in the US and had grossed over
USD$685 million worldwide by the end of June 2006. A film adaptation of
Angels and Demons is a bestselling [i] mystery [i] novel [i] by Dan Brown [i]....
, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, has been announced, but it has not been confirmed yet if Hanks will reprise the role of Robert Langdon.
Personal life
Hanks has been married to
actress Rita Wilson since 1988. They became involved while working on the movie
Volunteers , although they first worked together in an episode of
Bosom Buddies. They have two children together. Hanks was married previously to Lewes from 1978 to 1987. That union also produced two children . Through his contact with Wilson, Hanks joined the
Greek Orthodox Church.
Hanks claims to be a relative of James Hanks, one of several possible fathers of
Nancy Hanks, mother of
United States president Abraham Lincoln. A map of his
family tree showing the purported connection can be found in the
External links section.
Hanks is a fan of the
Cleveland Indians baseball team and English Premier League football team
Aston Villa.
Other activities
Hanks is a member of the
National Space Society, serving on the Board of Governors of the nonprofit educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr.
Wernher von Braun and was the producer of the
HBO miniseries
From the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fiction [i] story written in 1865 [i] by Jules Verne [i] ...
about the
Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon. Hanks also provides the voice over for the Hayden planetarium show at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York.
In June 2006 Hanks was inducted as an honorary member of the US Army's Ranger Hall of Fame for his accurate portrayal of a Captain in the movie
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 [i] Academy Award [i] winning film [i], di ...
. In addition to his role in
Saving Private Ryan, Hanks was cited for serving as the national
spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign, for being the honorary chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign, and for his role in writing and helping to produce the
Emmy Award-winning miniseries,
Band of Brothers.
Hanks, who was unable to attend the induction
ceremony, became the first
actor to receive such an
honor.
Although he gives money to many Democratic politicians, Hanks usually keeps his opinions about politics to himself.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 2008 | Toy Story 3 is a computer-animated film [i], a sequel to Toy Story [i] and Toy Story 2 [i] t ...
| Sheriff Woody | |
| Charlie Wilson's War | Charlie Wilson | |
| Mamma Mia! | | |
| 2006 | The Great Buck Howard | Unknown | Director Sean McGinley |
| The Risk Pool | Sam Hall | |
| A Cold Case | Andy Rosenzweig |
|
The Ant Bully is a computer-animated [i] film [i] produced by Tom Hanks [i] and Gary Goetzman's Playtone [i] ...
| | |
The Da Vinci Code is a mystery [i]/detective [i] novel [i] by American [i] ...
| Robert Langdon | |
| Cars | Sheriff Woody Car | |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | Older Hero Boy, Father, Conductor, Hobo, Scrooge, & Santa Claus | |
| Elvis Has Left the Building | Mailbox Elvis | |
| The Terminal | Viktor Navorski | |
The Ladykillers is a 1955 [i] British film [i]. ...
| Professor G.H. Dorr | |
| 2002 | Catch Me If You Can | Carl Hanratty | |
| Road to Perdition | Michael Sullivan | |
| 2000 | Cast Away is a 2000 [i] film [i] by 20th Century Fox [i] and DreamWorks [i] about a FedEx [i] ...
| Chuck Noland | |
| 1999 | The Green Mile | Paul Edgecomb | |
Toy Story 2 is a CGI [i] animation [i] film [i] and the sequel [i] to Toy Story [i] ...
| Sheriff Woody | The first time Hanks has portrayed the same character in more than one film. |
| 1998 | You've Got Mail | Joe Fox | |
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 [i] Academy Award [i] winning film [i], di ...
| Captain John H. Miller | |
| 1996 | That Thing You Do! | Mr. White | |
| 1995 | Toy Story is a computer-generated imagery [i] animation [i] film [i] produced by Pixar Animation Studios [i] ...
| Sheriff Woody | |
| The Celluloid Closet | Himself | |
| Apollo 13 | Jim Lovell | |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Forrest Gump | |
| 1993 | Philadelphia | Andrew Beckett | |
| Sleepless in Seattle | Sam Baldwin | |
| 1992 | A League of Their Own | Jimmy Dugan | |
| Radio Flyer | Older Mike | |
| 1990 | The Bonfire Of The Vanities | Sherman McCoy | |
Joe Versus The Volcano is a 1990 [i] comedy [i] film [i] starring Tom Hanks [i] and Meg Ryan [i] ...
| Joe Banks | |
| 1989 | Turner & Hooch | Det. Scott Turner | |
| The 'Burbs | Ray Peterson | |
| 1988 | Punchline | Steven Gold | |
Big is a 1988 [i] comedy film [i] about a teenage boy who is aged to adulthood by a magical fortune- ...
| Josh Baskin | |
| 1987 | Dragnet | Pep Streebeck | |
| 1986 | Every Time We Say Goodbye | David Bradley | |
| Nothing in Common | David Basner | |
| The Money Pit | Walter Fielding, Jr. | |
| 1985 | Volunteers | Lawrence Whatley Bourne, III | |
| The Man With One Red Shoe | Richard Harlan Drew | |
| 1984 | Bachelor Party | Rick Gassko | |
| Splash | Allen Bauer | |
| 1980 | He Knows You're Alone | Elliot | |
Television
- Bosom Buddies
- Mazes and Monsters is a made-for-TV movie [i] about a group of college [i] students ...
- Vault of Horror I
- From the Earth to the Moon
- Band of Brothers
Top worldwide film grosses
- These figures do not account for inflation.
| Year | Title | Gross |
|---|
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code is a mystery [i]/detective [i] novel [i] by American [i] ...
| $747,286,711 |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | $297,775,955 |
| 2004 | The Terminal | $218,686,156 |
| 2002 | Catch Me If You Can | $351,112,395 |
| 2002 | Road To Perdition | $181,001,478 |
| 2000 | Cast Away is a 2000 [i] film [i] by 20th Century Fox [i] and DreamWorks [i] about a FedEx [i] ...
| $429,632,142 |
| 1999 | The Green Mile | $286,801,374 |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 is a CGI [i] animation [i] film [i] and the sequel [i] to Toy Story [i] ...
| $485,015,179 |
| 1998 | You've Got Mail | $250,821,495 |
| 1998 | Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 [i] Academy Award [i] winning film [i], di ...
| $481,840,909 |
| 1995 | Toy Story is a computer-generated imagery [i] animation [i] film [i] produced by Pixar Animation Studios [i] ...
| $361,958,736 |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | $355,237,933 |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | $677,386,686 |
| 1993 | Philadelphia | $206,678,440 |
| 1993 | Sleepless In Seattle | $227,799,884 |
| 1992 | A League of Their Own | $132,440,069 |
| 1988 | Big is a 1988 [i] comedy film [i] about a teenage boy who is aged to adulthood by a magical fortune- ...
| $151,668,774 |
Total 17 Over $100,000,000 Grossing Films>
See . Figures are subject to minor adjustments when studios release revised official figures, which sometimes occurs years after first release.Academy Awards and nominations
- 1988 Nominated Best Actor for Big
- 1993 Won Best Actor for Philadelphia
- 1994 Won Best Actor for Forrest Gump
- 1998 Nominated Best Actor for Saving Private Ryan
- 2000 Nominated Best Actor for Cast Away
Trivia
- Hanks is around 6' . His height has been described from 5ft 11" to 6ft 1".
- His brother is a renowned entomology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- A fan of NASA's manned space program. He said that he originally wanted to be an astronaut but "didn't have the math."
- Hanks was considered for roles in Batman Forever, Jerry Maguire is a 1996 [i] film, staring Tom Cruise [i], that tells the story of profe ...
, Hook, Field of Dreams is a movie [i] about a farmer who becomes convinced by a mysterious voice that ...
, Nixon and Groundhog Day. - He has said that one of his favorite films is . In interviews he has said that he has seen it around thirteen times in theaters and owns the VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD releases of the film.
- While interviewing for Inside the Actor's Studio, Hanks comments how he hates the sound of a ringing telephone. As Hanks nods his head, the audience begins to burst into laughter because of an earlier incident in which a student's cell phone rang, interrupting Hanks' interview with James Lipton. As a demonstration of how to react to a cell phone going off while acting on stage in live theatre to the students, Hanks got up from his seat and walked across the stage yelling "TURN OFF THAT CELL PHONE!"
- Hanks, whose daughter attended Vassar College, spoke at the 2005 graduation ceremony.
- When Hanks made his acceptance speech for winning the Best Actor Oscar for Philadelphia, he revealed that his high school drama teacher was gay.
- Hanks is one of several celebrities who frequently participate in planned comedy bits on Late Night with Conan O'Brien while they are guests. On one visit, Hanks asked Conan to join his run for president on the "Bad Haircut Party" ticket, with confetti and balloons and a handheld sign with the slogan "You'd be stupid to vote for us". On another, O'Brien, noting that Hanks was missing Christmas on his promotional tour, brought the season to him, including a gift , and a mass of snow burying them both. On yet another episode, Conan gifted Hanks with a painting he had commissioned reflecting two of his interests: Astronauts landing on the beach at Normandy.
- Socks play a role in each of Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and A League of Their Own. During his service in the Vietnam War, the main advice that Forrest Gump receives from Lieutenant Dan is to keep his feet clean and dry and to change his socks often. In Apollo 13, Hanks' character Jim Lovell takes off his sock to use it in an ad hoc air filter. In Saving Private Ryan, Hanks' character and his men use socks to create "sticky bombs" to destroy the German tanks during the confrontation at the bridge. In A League of Their Own, before the Peaches' final game, Hanks' character asks, in the locker room, "What the hell's that smell?," to which he's told, "Alice thinks it's bad luck to change her socks." Another event involving socks can be found in the HBO/BBC miniseries Band of Brothers, produced by Tom Hanks. In this miniseries, the medic warns the soldier to wear dry socks to avoid gangrene.
- Hanks' characters also have a recurring theme of bladder issues. In Forrest Gump, Forrest meets JFK and blurts out, "I gotta pee!" In Road To Perdition Michael Sullivan replies "it also makes me piss" when asked if coffee makes him sweat. In The Green Mile, Paul Edgecombe is afflicted with an extremely painful urinary tract infection, which John Coffey cures. In A League of Their Own, Jimmy Dugan makes his entrance into the locker room highly hung over, seemingly unaware of all the female ballplayers present, and takes a very long stretch at the urinal, as the women look on in disbelief. When he finally finishes, Rosie O'Donnell's character says, "That was some peein'!" Hanks' characters are also seen urinating in the movies The Money Pit, Big, Cast Away, and Apollo 13, making a total of seven films.
- Hanks is a third cousin, four times removed of President Abraham Lincoln.
- Hanks appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American [i] late night [i] ...
to publicise his new film, The Da Vinci Code. He told the audience he had met, had a conversation with, and given a present to the Japanese Prime Minister, "Fujimori". The Japanese Prime Minister Hanks met is Junichiro Koizumi; Alberto Fujimori was the former President of Peru.
Further reading
Books
- Trakin, Roy, Tom Hanks: Journey to Stardom, 1987; rev. ed.1995
- Salamon, Julie, The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood, Boston, 1991
- Wallner, Rosemary, Tom Hanks: Academy Award-Winning Actor, Edina, Minnesota, 1994
- Pfeiffer, Lee, The Films of Tom Hanks, Secaucus, New Jersey, 1996
- Gardner, David, Tom Hanks: The Unauthorized Biography, London, England 1999
Periodicals
- Films, July 1984
- Photoplay , September 1984
- Time Out , October 26, 1988
- Film Comment , March/April 1989
- Interview , March 1992
- Interview , December 1993
- Advocate, December 14, 1993
- Maclean's , July 11, 1994
External links
