Thomas Jeffrey Hanks/ Tom Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Hanks’s films have grossed more than $4.9 billion in North America and more than $9.96 billion worldwide, making him the fourth-highest-grossing actor in North America.
What was Tom Hanks first serious role?
Tom Hanks made his professional acting debut on stage playing Grumio in a 1977 Great Lakes Theater production of The Taming of the Shrew. He made his film debut with a minor role in the 1980 horror film He Knows You’re Alone. In the same year, Hanks appeared in the television series Bosom Buddies, a role which led to guest appearances on several shows including Happy Days with Ron Howard. Howard cast him in his first leading role in the fantasy romantic comedy Splash. His breakthrough role was in the age-changing comedy Big (1988), for which he garnered his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
In 1993, Hanks starred with Meg Ryan in the Nora Ephron-directed romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle. Later that year he starred in the drama Philadelphia as a gay lawyer with AIDS fighting discrimination in his law firm. For his performance, Hanks earned his first Academy Award for Best Actor. He followed this with the 1994 romantic comedy-drama Forrest Gump, winning a consecutive second Academy Award for Best Actor; he is the first since Spencer Tracy in 1937 and 1938 to achieve this feat.[8] In 1995, he played astronaut Jim Lovell in the Howard-directed historical drama Apollo 13, and voiced Sheriff Woody in the animated film Toy Story (a role which he would reprise in three sequels).
What is Tom Hanks greatest movie?
Cast Away
Cast Away is basically a one-man show consisting of a FedEx executive (Tom Hanks) deserted on an island. It is not easy for an actor to carry a movie with hardly any dialogue or supporting cast, but through Hank’s emotion and talent, the film is a survival story of epic proportions. The film is brilliantly directed by Robert Zemeckis and earned Tom Hanks an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Saving Private Ryan
Steven Spielberg’s epic WWII drama tells the story of a group of soldiers on a quest to retrieve Private Ryan (Matt Damon), after his brothers were killed in battle. Saving Private Ryan is arguably the greatest WWII film of all time and delivers one of the most realistic depictions of battle in the first twenty minutes of the film, as the soldiers storm the beaches of Normandy.
Forrest Gump
Tom Hanks earned his second Academy Award in Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks takes the role of Forrest Gump, a man with an extremely low IQ, who takes us on a journey through America over the course of several years. The film is a gem that is still beloved by audiences to this day. It has heart, drama, romance, and several memorable lines.
Philadelphia
Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia is a heartbreaking tale of an attorney dying from AIDS (Tom Hanks movie) who sues his law firm for wrongful termination with the help of attorney Joe Miller (Denzel Washington). Philadelphia was a landmark film that brought AIDS to the attention of audiences and showcased the pain it brought to innocent people. Hanks delivers a career-defining performance and earned his first Academy Award for Best Actor. Demme’s direction is brilliant, and this is a film that should be seen by all.
Is Tom Hanks related to Abraham Lincoln?
Tom Hanks‘ performance as Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood has already generated Oscar buzz ahead of its release on Friday. But in a twist of fate, the actor may have had an advantage for his uncanny portrayal of the beloved Mister Rogers: they might have actually shared genes.
According to research by Ancestry.com, Hanks is sixth cousins with the late children’s TV show host.
An Access Hollywood reporter revealed the information to Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, on the red carpet of a New York screening on Sunday. “No, you’re pulling our leg,” Wilson said upon learning the news. Hanks appeared calm, cool and collected as he said, “This all just comes together, you see.”
Rogers’ widow Joanne was equally shocked when she learned the news, too. “Now that is amazing,” she told Access Hollywood. “And Fred would have loved it. He loved family tree stuff.”
Hanks and Rogers share an ancestor in Johannes Meffert, who was born in 1732, according to Ancestry’s research. Meffert immigrated to America from Germany, and three of his sons fought in the Revolutionary War, a representative for Ancestry told TIME in an email.
Hanks seems to have a lot of important relatives. The actor is also a descendent of President Abraham Lincoln, through a connection to Lincoln’s mother, Nancy, and he narrated Killing Lincoln, the 2011 TV movie about the president’s assassination.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood stars Hanks as the legendary Rogers, telling the story of his relationship with journalist Tom Junod, a version of whom is played by Matthew Rhys.
What does Tom Hanks say about his gay role in Philadelphia
Tom Hanks may have won an Oscar for his turn as a gay lawyer battling AIDS in the 1993 film “Philadelphia” — but he doesn’t think his performance would go over well today. And “rightly so,” he said in an interview with The New York Times Magazine, published Wednesday.
“Could a straight man do what I did in ‘Philadelphia’ now? No, and rightly so,” he said. “The whole point of ‘Philadelphia’ was don’t be afraid. One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man.” Hanks added that “we’re beyond that now.”
“I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy,” he continued. “It’s not a crime, it’s not boohoo, that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie in the modern realm of authenticity. Do I sound like I’m preaching? I don’t mean to.”
Tom Hanks earned his first best actor Oscar for his performance in “Philadelphia” as Andrew Beckett, a gay attorney diagnosed with AIDS and battling workplace discrimination. Hanks took home his second best actor Oscar a year later for playing the title role in 1994’s “Forrest Gump.”
In his “Philadelphia” acceptance speech, Hanks said his work in the film “is magnified by the fact that the streets of heaven are too crowded with angels.” Tom Hanks fesses up to firing an actor 20 years ago, even though he doesn’t remember it.
“We know their names,” Tom Hanks continued. “They number a thousand for each one of the red ribbons that we wear here tonight. They finally rest in the warm embrace of the gracious creator of us all — a healing embrace that cools their fevers, that clears their skin and allows their eyes to see the simple…”
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