Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is a talented, versatile, Oscar winning actor and producer who has had success in the industry for decades. One of the first movies that made me really appreciate what he can do was Forrest Gump in 1994. Hanks played the title character who was kind, intellectually non-threatening, and a fast runner, and it earned Tom his second best actor Oscar in a row (after winning the previous year for Philadelphia, co-starring Denzel Washington). He brought to the role a calming, caring, decent human being approach that Tom seems to easily give off in most of his performances. Whether playing a teenager who is suddenly grown up in Big (1988 with Elizabeth Perkins), a World War 2 soldier in Saving Private Ryan (1998 directed by Steven Spielberg, earning Tom an Oscar nomination), or a stranded postal worker on a deserted island in Cast Away (2000), Tom has the ability to channel the intended feeling of the film into his performances and earned an Oscar nomination for all 3 roles. Having a more comedic start to his career, Hanks has grown into one of the most trusted actors for delivering quality dramatic roles, while still making time for family friendly films such as his voice role of Woody in the Toy Story franchise (1995-2017, 3 feature length films plus shorts, with a 4th film on the way), and his voice and likeness in The Polar Express (2004 directed by Robert Zemeckis who also directed Cast Away). Tom has also produced My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002 with Nia Vardalos), Connie and Carla (2004 again with Nia Vardalos), Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005 IMAX which he also narrated), The Ant Bully (2006), Evan Almighty (2007 with Steve Carell), Mamma Mia! (2008 with Meryl Streep), Big Love (51 episodes 2006-2011 with Bill Paxton, his Apollo 13 co-star), Olive Kitteridge (all 4 episodes 2014 starring Frances McDormand), and the CNN series on decades (2014-2017, including 60s, 70s, 80s, and The Nineties which premieres tonight).
Tom was born in Concord, California, acted in school plays, was a big fan of theatre, and won an award in Cleveland for best actor while playing a villain in the Shakespeare play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1978). He moved to New York, appeared in his first film He Knows You’re Alone (horror, 1980), then moved to Los Angeles and co-starred on the tv show Bosom Buddies (2 seasons, 1980-1982 with Peter Scolari). His comedic beginnings included roles in Splash (1984 with Daryl Hannah), Dragnet (1987 with Dan Aykroyd), Turner & Hooch (1989), and A League of Their Own (1992 with Geena Davis). Tom wrote, directed, and appeared in That Thing You Do! (1996 with Liv Tyler) and Larry Crowne (2011 with Julia Roberts). Hanks is capable of being the leading man and works with some talented directors, starring in The Green Mile (1999 directed by Frank Darabont), Road to Perdition (2002 directed by Sam Mendes), The Ladykillers (2004 directed by Ethan and Joel Coen), Charlie Wilson’s War (2007 directed by Mike Nichols), Cloud Atlas (2012 with Lana and Lilly Wachowski and Tom Tykwer), Saving Mr. Banks (2013 directed by John Lee Hancock), Captain Phillips (2013 directed by Paul Greengrass), and Sully (2016 directed by Clint Eastwood). Hanks has worked often with the same people such as Meg Ryan, Ron Howard, and Steven Spielberg. Meg Ryan and Tom were both in Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You’ve Got Mail (1998), and Ithaca (2015 which she also directed). Ron Howard has directed Tom in Apollo 13 (1995 with Kevin Bacon), The Da Vinci Code (2006 with Audrey Tautou), it’s sequel Angels & Demons (2009 with Ewan McGregor), and the third part Inferno (2016 with Felicity Jones). Steven Spielberg worked with Tom Hanks on Saving Private Ryan (1998 with Matt Damon), co-produced Band of Brothers (2001, Tom also directed an episode), Catch Me If You Can (2002 with Leonardo DiCaprio), The Terminal (2004 with Catherine Zeta-Jones), co-produced The Pacific (all 10 episodes, Tom also narrated), and Bridge of Spies (2015). Hanks was most recently seen hosting Saturday Night Live for the 9th time, acted in The Circle (2017 with Emma Watson) and will next be seen in The Papers (drama again teaming with Steven Spielberg).
Thank you and Happy Birthday Tom!