Tom Hanks is a very well known American actor who is one of Hollywood’s highest-paid performers. He gained a lot of recognition for his role in Ron Howard’s romantic comedy “Splash.” He became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors after portraying Robert Langdon in the films “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons.”His charisma and cheerful demeanor won him an instant celebrity, and he was regularly likened to Hollywood giants such as Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and Gary Cooper. He has distinguished himself not just as an actor, but also as a writer and director, with films such as “That Thing You Do!” and “Larry Crowne.” He produced several films and documentaries, including “From the Earth to the Moon,” “Band of Brothers,” and “The Pacific.”. He is a man who is interested in worldly affairs, is a humanitarian, and has publicly expressed his views on same-sex weddings. He recognizes the need for alternative fuels as an environmentalist and has indicated his willingness to contribute a significant quantity of money to promote electric automobiles. Because of his goal to become an astronaut, he is a strong supporter of NASA’s manned space program.
Childhood and Youth
Tom Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California, to nomadic chef Amos Mefford Hanks and hospital worker Janet Marylyn.
His siblings are Sandra, Larry, and Jim. His parents divorced in 1960. Tom, Sandra, and Larry were raised by his father, while Jim, their youngest sibling, was raised by his mother. His father had to contend with his father’s continual migration before settling in Oakland. He graduated from the college in 1974 after graduating from Oakland’s Skyline High School. He began his education at Chabot College in Hayward, California, before transferring to California State University, Sacramento, to study acting.
Career Life
In 1978, he won the Cleveland Critics Circle’s Best Actor award for his performance as “Proteus” in Shakespeare’s “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
During the winters, he worked for a Sacramento-based theater company, and from 1978 to 1980, he performed several Shakespearean summer productions. In 1979, he moved to New York to perform on Broadway.
In 1980, he made his acting debut in “He Knows You’re Alone,” a low-budget horror flick. He was cast in the television sitcom “Bosom Buddies” the following year, for which he gained critical acclaim. His cameo performance on an episode of ‘Happy Days’ in 1982 thrilled co-star Ron Howard, who urged him to play a supporting role in ‘Splash,’ a comedy film released in 1984 that became a box office success. In 1994, he starred in the epic romantic comedy-drama “Forrest Gump,” based on Winston Groom’s eponymous novel. For his role in the film, he was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2001, he became well-known for his parts in HBO’s ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘A Tribute to Heroes.’ In 2004, he appeared in many films, including The Ladykillers by the Coen Brothers, The Terminal by Steven Spielberg, and The Polar Express by Robert Zemeckis. In 2006, he joined up with Ron Howard to play Robert Langdon in the film adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel of the same name, “The Da Vinci Code.” He co-produced ‘The Great Buck Howard’ (2008), where his son Colin Hanks co-starred with him. In 2009, he played the role of the famed Robert Langdon once again in ‘Angels and Demons’, a sequel to ‘The Da Vinci Code’ that catapulted him to fame. He was the executive producer of the 2012 film ‘Game Change’ which is about the 2008 presidential campaign.
Major Works
- The 1999 animated film, ‘Toy Story 2’, where Hanks lent his voice for the character, Woody, the leader of the cowboy dolls, became a box-office hit making a record-breaking box-office sale of $80.8 million.
- Apollo 13’ a film that deals with the lunar mission, released in 2002 in the IMAX format became a huge success earning $500 million at the box office.
- ‘The Da Vinci Code’ filmed in 2006, based on the best-seller written by Dan Brown, earned over $750 million at the box office.
Awards
- He won two Academy Awards consecutively in 1994 and 1995 for his outstanding performance in the films ‘Philadelphia’ and ‘Forrest Gump’.
- Steven Spielberg awarded him with the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award in 2002. He was the youngest person to get this coveted award.
- In 2006, he was inducted into the US Army Rangers Hall of Fame.
Personal Life
Samantha Lewes, an actress, and producer, married in 1978. In 1987, they divorced. Colin and Elizabeth are the couple’s two children. In 1988, he married Rita Wilson, an actress with whom he had previously worked in the film “Volunteers.” Chester and Truman are the couple’s two kids. He is commemorated by the asteroid 12818 Tomhanks.