93 Facts About Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born on July 9,1956 and is an American actor and filmmaker.

Tom Hanks has received numerous honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honor both in 2016, as well as the Golden Globe Cecil B DeMille Award in 2020.

Tom Hanks made his breakthrough with leading roles in a series of comedy films which received positive media attention, such as Splash, The Money Pit, Big, and A League of Their Own.

Tom Hanks won two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor for starring as a gay lawyer suffering from AIDS in Philadelphia and the title character in Forrest Gump.

Tom Hanks collaborated with film director Steven Spielberg on five films: Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Bridge of Spies, and The Post, as well as the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific, which launched him as a director, producer, and screenwriter.

Tom Hanks frequently collaborated with film directors Ron Howard, Nora Ephron, and Robert Zemeckis.

Tom Hanks has appeared as the title character in the Robert Langdon film series, and voiced Sheriff Woody in the Toy Story film series.

Tom Hanks was born in Concord, California, on July 9,1956, to hospital worker Janet Marylyn and itinerant cook Amos "Bud" Hanks.

Tom Hanks's mother was from a Portuguese family; their surname was originally "Fraga".

Tom Hanks's father had English ancestry, and through his line, Hanks is a distant cousin of President Abraham Lincoln and children's host Fred Rogers, whom he played.

Tom Hanks acted in school plays, including South Pacific, while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California.

Tom Hanks studied theater at Chabot College in Hayward, California, and transferred to California State University, Sacramento after two years.

Tom Hanks replied he would rather win a Heisman by playing halfback for the California Golden Bears.

At Dowling's suggestion, Tom Hanks became an intern at the festival.

Tom Hanks's internship stretched into a three-year experience that covered most aspects of theater production, including lighting, set design, and stage management, prompting Hanks to drop out of college.

In 1979, Tom Hanks moved to New York City, where he made his film debut in the low-budget slasher film He Knows You're Alone and landed a starring role in the television movie Mazes and Monsters.

Tom Hanks had previously partnered with Scolari on the 1970s game show Make Me Laugh.

Tom Hanks made a guest appearance on a 1982 episode of Happy Days where he met writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel who were writing the film Splash, a romantic comedy fantasy about a mermaid who falls in love with a human, to be directed by former Happy Days star Ron Howard.

Tom Hanks then suffered a run of box-office underperformers: The 'Burbs, Joe Versus the Volcano, and The Bonfire of the Vanities.

Tom Hanks climbed back to the top again with his portrayal of a washed-up baseball legend turned manager in A League of Their Own.

Tom Hanks has said his acting in earlier roles was not great, but that he subsequently improved.

Richard Schickel of TIME called his performance "charming," and most critics agreed that Tom Hanks' portrayal ensured him a place among the premier romantic-comedy stars of his generation.

Tom Hanks lost 35 pounds and thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role.

Tom Hanks is flat-out terrific, giving a deeply felt, carefully nuanced performance that deserves an Oscar.

Later that year, Tom Hanks re-teamed with his Sleepless in Seattle co-star Meg Ryan for You've Got Mail, a remake of 1940's The Shop Around the Corner.

In 1999, Tom Hanks starred in an adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Green Mile.

Tom Hanks returned as the voice of Woody in Toy Story 2, the sequel to Toy Story.

In 2000, Tom Hanks starred in Robert Zemeckis's Cast Away, for which he received a Golden Globe Award win for Best Actor and an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a marooned FedEx systems analyst.

In 2001, Tom Hanks helped direct and produce the Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

Tom Hanks then teamed up with American Beauty director Sam Mendes for the adaptation of Max Allan Collins's and Richard Piers Rayner's DC Comics 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, Tom Hanks collaborated with director Spielberg, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit biographical crime drama Catch Me If You Can, based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr.

At the age of 45, Tom Hanks became the youngest-ever recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award on June 12,2002.

In 2004, he appeared in three films: The Coen brothers' The Ladykillers, another Spielberg film, The Terminal, and The Polar Express, a family film from Zemeckis for which Tom Hanks played multiple motion capture roles.

Tom Hanks next starred in the highly anticipated film The Da Vinci Code, based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown.

Tom Hanks followed the film with Ken Burns's 2007 documentary The War.

In 2006, Tom Hanks topped a 1,500-strong list of "most trusted celebrities" compiled by Forbes magazine.

Tom Hanks produced the animated children's movie The Ant Bully in 2006.

Tom Hanks next appeared in a cameo role as himself in The Simpsons Movie, in which he appeared in an advertisement claiming that the US government has lost its credibility and is hence buying some of his.

Tom Hanks made an appearance in the credits, expressing a desire to be left alone when he is out in public.

Later in 2006, Tom Hanks produced the British film Starter for Ten, a comedy based on working-class students attempting to win on University Challenge.

In 2007, Tom Hanks starred in Mike Nichols's film Charlie Wilson's War in which he played Democratic Texas Congressman Charles Wilson.

The film opened on December 21,2007, and Tom Hanks received a Golden Globe nomination.

Tom Hanks's character was less than thrilled about his son's career decision.

Tom Hanks produced the Spike Jonze film Where The Wild Things Are, based on the children's book by Maurice Sendak in 2009.

In 2010, Tom Hanks reprised his voice role of Woody in Toy Story 3 after he, Tim Allen, and John Ratzenberger were invited to a movie theater to see a complete story reel of the movie.

Tom Hanks was executive producer of the miniseries The Pacific.

Tom Hanks starred in the Wachowskis-directed film adaptation of the novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas, and was executive producer of the miniseries Game Change.

That same year, Tom Hanks made his Broadway debut, starring in Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Tom Hanks told the magazine that he built plastic models of rockets when he was a child and watched live broadcasts of space missions back in the 1960s.

In March 2015, Tom Hanks appeared in the Carly Rae Jepsen music video for "I Really Like You", lip-syncing most of the song's lyrics as he goes through his daily routine.

Tom Hanks starred as airline captain Chesley Sullenberger in Clint Eastwood's Sully, which was released in September 2016.

Tom Hanks next reprised his role as Robert Langdon in Inferno, and co-starred alongside Emma Watson in the 2017 science fiction drama The Circle.

Tom Hanks voiced David S Pumpkins in The David S Pumpkins Halloween Special, which aired October 28,2017 on NBC, a character he had portrayed in episodes of Saturday Night Live.

Tom Hanks reprised his voice role as Sheriff Woody in Pixar's Toy Story 4, which was released on June 21,2019.

Later that year, Tom Hanks portrayed Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller's biographical film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood for which he was nominated for his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Tom Hanks delivered an opening monologue via his house but did not appear in any of the sketches.

In July 2020, Tom Hanks starred in Greyhound, a war film which he wrote the screenplay for.

Later that year, Tom Hanks starred in the western drama film News of the World, re-teaming with director Paul Greengrass, which was released on December 23,2020.

In 2021, Tom Hanks starred in the science fiction drama Finch, directed by Miguel Sapochnik, and released by Apple TV+.

In November 2018, it was reported that Tom Hanks was in talks to portray Geppetto in Walt Disney Studios' live-action adaptation of Pinocchio.

In July 2021, it was announced Tom Hanks would set to appear in Wes Anderson's Asteroid City starring Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Adrien Brody.

Tom Hanks is appearing in In the Garden of Beasts, an adaptation of the 2011 non fiction book from director Joe Wright about American diplomat William Dodd.

Tom Hanks has received six Academy Award nominations including two consecutive wins for Best Actor for Philadelphia, and Forrest Gump in 1993, and 1994 respectively.

Tom Hanks received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Nora Ephron's play Lucky Guy in 2013.

Tom Hanks has received 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on television which includes 7 wins for his work as a producer on various limited series and television films including From the Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, John Adams, The Pacific, Game Change, and Olive Kitteridge.

In 1981, Tom Hanks met actress Rita Wilson on the set of TV comedy Bosom Buddies.

In October 2013, Tom Hanks said he has Type 2 diabetes.

Since 1984, Tom Hanks has been an avid fan of the English Premier League club Aston Villa.

In November 2019, shortly before the release of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a drama film in which Tom Hanks portrays Fred Rogers, he learned through Ancestry.

Tom Hanks is a distant relative of the 16th US president, Abraham Lincoln.

Greece's Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos said Tom Hanks "showed real interest in the people who suffered from the fire in Mati and promoted this issue in the global media".

Tom Hanks has donated to many Democratic politicians, and during the 2008 United States presidential election uploaded a video to his MySpace account endorsing Barack Obama.

Tom Hanks narrated a 2012 documentary, The Road We've Traveled, created by Obama for America.

In 2016, Tom Hanks endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Tom Hanks was outspoken about his opposition to the 2008 Proposition8, an amendment to the California constitution that defined marriage as a union only between a man and a woman.

Tom Hanks serves as campaign chair of the Hidden Heroes Campaign of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.

In 2004, while touring the White House, Tom Hanks learned that the press corps did not have a coffee pot, and shortly thereafter he donated an espresso machine.

Tom Hanks again donated new machines in 2010 and 2017.

Tom Hanks endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential election.

Tom Hanks is a member of the National Space Society, serving on the Board of governors of the nonprofit educational space advocacy organization founded by Wernher von Braun.

Tom Hanks produced the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon about the Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon.

Tom Hanks provided the voice-over for the premiere of the show Passport to the Universe at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

In June 2006, Tom Hanks was inducted as an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame for his accurate portrayal of a captain in the movie Saving Private Ryan; Tom Hanks, who was unable to attend the induction ceremony, was the first actor to receive such an honor.

On March 10,2008, Tom Hanks was on hand at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct The Dave Clark Five.

Tom Hanks is a collector of manual typewriters and uses them almost daily.

Tom Hanks is an ordained minister, and on March 24,2022, CBS News reported that he had recently officiated a wedding in Pittsburgh.

Tom Hanks wrote a collection of short stories inspired by his typewriter collection, Uncommon Type, which was published in 2017.

Tom Hanks is often compared to James Stewart, and has frequently been referred to as "America's Dad".

In 2003, Tom Hanks was voted Number 3 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time, and he is number 22 on VH1's list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time".

Tom Hanks was included on Forbes list of the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world, in 2000,2002, and 2003.

Tom Hanks was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on May 8,2016; his chosen favorite song, book and luxury item were Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra by the Vienna Philharmonic, A World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester, and a Hermes 3000 typewriter and paper, respectively.

Tom Hanks was interviewed five times on WHYY-FM by Terry Gross on the radio show Fresh Air in Philadelphia.

Two interviews are about the 12 part miniseries From Earth to the Moon, for which Tom Hanks was executive producer and which was nominated for 17 Emmy Awards.