Name: Tom Hanks
Birth Name: Thomas Jeffrey Hanks
Birthdate: July 9, 1956
Birthplace: Concord, Calif.
1-MINUTE RESUME FOR TOM HANKS
Often called the James Stewart of modern Hollywood, nice guy Hanks has
had an impressive career with an ironic beginning — he couldn't get
cast in a college play, so he tried out for a community theater and
wowed its director. In the 1980s, he tottered into living rooms in a
dress and heels as the star of
Bosom Buddies and went on to make a
Splash;
the actor, while not traditionally handsome, had huge audience appeal
as a romantic-comedy leading man. He proved his acting mettle with
films such as
Philadelphia and
Saving Private Ryan, and he remains one of Hollywood's most popular actors. Hanks is the recipient of two back-to-back Oscars for
Philadelphia and
Forrest Gump in 1994 and 1995, respectively.
5 Things:
1. He has called becoming a born-again Christian as a teen "one of the best things I ever did."
2. Tom is a third cousin, four generations removed, of Abraham Lincoln.
3. He was the first to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars since Spencer Tracy in the '30s.
4. He stayed in character during a six-day boot camp for Saving Private Ryan, which involved sleeping three-hour nights in a tent, doing drills with 60-pound backpacks and facing "blank" enemy fire.
5. He was offered the title role in Jerry Maguire.
Quote:
On media misconceptions about being a movie-star icon: "It means
limousines, it means autographs, it means sunglasses and it means
incognito vacations and bodyguards and houses with gates and all that
kind of stuff. After that, what's fun about that icon?"
—
Interview, March 1994
Family:
Wife: Rita Wilson, actress, born Oct. 26, 1958, met on the set of
Volunteers, married April 30, 1988
Wife: Samantha Lewes, married Jan. 24, 1978, divorced March 19, 1987, died of cancer Mar. 12, 2002
Daughter: (with Lewes) Elizabeth, born 1985
Son: (with Lewes) Colin, actor, born Nov. 24, 1977
Son: (with Wilson) Chester Marlon, born Aug. 4, 1990
Son: (with Wilson) Truman Theodore, born Dec. 26, 1995
Awards:
2001: Academy Award nomination: Best Actor, Cast Away; Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), Cast Away
1999: Academy Award nomination: Best Actor, Saving Private Ryan; Golden Globe nomination: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), Saving Private Ryan
1995: Academy Award: Best Actor, Forrest Gump; Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), Forrest Gump
1994: Academy Award: Best Actor, Philadelphia; Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), Philadelphia; Golden Globe nomination: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy/Musical), Sleepless in Seattle
1989: Academy Award nomination: Best Actor, Big; Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy/Musical), Big
FILMS
Angels and Demons - (2009) - Actor
Mamma Mia! - (2008) - Executive Producer
City of Ember - (2008) - Producer
Evan Almighty - (2007) - Executive Producer
Charlie Wilson's War - (2007) - Actor, Producer
Starter for 10 - (2007) - Producer
The Pixar Story - (2007) - Featured
The Da Vinci Code - (2006) - Actor
Ant Bully - (2006) - Producer
Saturday Night Live - The Best of Tom Hanks - (2005) - Actor
The Terminal - (2004) - Actor
The Polar Express - (2004) - Actor
Late Night With Conan O'Brien - 10th Anniversary Special - (2004) - Actor
The Ladykillers - (2004) - Actor
Concert for George - (2003) - Cameo
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - (2002) - Producer
Road to Perdition - (2002) - Actor
Catch Me if You Can - (2002) - Actor
Band of Brothers - (2001) - Executive Producer, Actor
Cast Away - (2000) - Actor, Producer
Solaris/Cast Away - (2000) - Actor
Toy Story 2 - (1999) - Voice
A League of Their Own/Sleepless in Seattle - (1999) - Actor
The Green Mile - (1999) - Actor
Saving Private Ryan - (1998) - Actor
You've Got Mail - (1998) - Actor
Practical Magic/ You've Got Mail - (1998) - Actor
Saturday Night Live - Best of 96-97 - (1998) - Actor
From the Earth to the Moon - (1998) - Director
That Thing You Do! - (1996) - Director, Actor, Screenwriter
Apollo 13 - (1995) - Actor
Toy Story - (1995) - Voice
Forrest Gump - (1994)
- Actor
Philadelphia - (1993)
- Actor
Fallen Angels - Vol. 2 - (1993) - Director, Actor
Sleepless in Seattle - (1993) - Actor
A League of Their Own - (1992) - Actor
Joe Versus the Volcano - (1990) - Actor
Bonfire of the Vanities - (1990) - Actor
The 'burbs - (1989) - Actor
Turner & Hooch - (1989) - Actor
Punchline - (1988) - Actor
Big - (1988) - Actor
Dragnet - (1987) - Actor
Every Time We Say Goodbye - (1986) - Actor
The Money Pit - (1986) - Actor
Nothing in Common - (1986) - Actor
Volunteers - (1985) - Actor
The Man With One Red Shoe - (1985) - Actor
Bachelor Party - (1984) - Actor
Splash - (1984) - Actor
Mazes and Monsters - (1982) - Actor
Bosom Buddies - V. 3 - (1981) - Actor
Bosom Buddies - V. 4 - (1981) - Actor
He Knows You're Alone - (1980) - Actor
Bosom Buddies - V. 1 - (1980) - Actor
Bosom Buddies - V. 2 - (1980) - Actor
