Date of Birth
9 July 1956,
Concord, California, USABirth NameThomas Jeffrey Hanks
Height6' (1.83 m)
Mini Biography
Born in California, Tom Hanks grew up in what he calls a "fractured" family. His parents were pioneers in the development of marriage dissolution law in that state, and Tom moved around a lot, living with a succession of step-families. No problems, no abuse, no alcoholism, just a confused childhood. He had no acting experience in college and, in fact, credits the fact that he couldn't get cast in a college play with actually starting his career - he went downtown, auditioned for a community theater play, was invited by the director of that play to go to Cleveland, and there his acting career started. He met his second wife, actress
Rita Wilson on the set of the his television show
"Bosom Buddies" (1980), she appeared in one episode in the second season (1981) - they have two children and Tom has another son and daughter by his first wife. In 1996, he made his first step behind the camera, directing as well as starring and writing the film
That Thing You Do! (1996).
Spouse
Rita Wilson(
30 April 1988 - present) 2 children
Samantha Lewes(
24 November 1977 -
19 March 1987) (divorced) 2 children
Trade Mark
Playing conflicted regular guys
Trivia
Is a frequent guest host on
"Saturday Night Live" (1975).
Received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the U. S. Navy's highest civilian honor, on Veterans Day 1999 for his work in the movie
Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Entertainment Weekly chose him as the only actor worthy of $20 million.
Dislocated his shoulder when he fell through a rotting floor in a building in Germany while scouting locations with
Steven Spielberg for the HBO series
"Band of Brothers" (2001) (1999).
Second actor to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars, for his work in
Philadelphia (1993) and
Forrest Gump (1994). The first was
Spencer Tracy, for
Captains Courageous (1937) and
Boys Town (1938).
Ranked #17 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list (October 1997).
Attended Skyline High School in Oakland, California.
Attended Chabot College in Hayward, California.
Attended California State University, Sacramento.
Voted best actor by the readers of "Us" magazine (1995).
Younger brother of Sandra Hanks and Larry Hanks and older brother of
Jim Hanks.
After a one-shot guest appearance on
"Happy Days" (1974), producer
Ron Howard asked him to read for a secondary part in
Splash (1984), and he got the lead instead.
Father, with first wife
Samantha Lewes, of
Colin Hanks (born on 24 September 1977) and
Elizabeth Hanks (born on 17 May 1982).
Marriedhis first wife
Samantha Lewes (real name: Susan Dillingham) two months after their son Colin's birth.
Hanks cited the help of a nearby ice cream shop which helped him gain 30 pounds for his role in
A League of Their Own (1992).
Received emergency treatment for serious staph infection in leg after returning from overseas location shoot (1999).
Was asked to play the title role in
Jerry Maguire (1996).
Born at 11:17 AM
His Oscar acceptance speech for 1993's
Philadelphia (1993) led to the plot of the movie
In & Out (1997). Hanks thanked a gay teacher in his speech.
Has another brother who is a professor at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, IL.
Received American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, presented by fellow Oscar winner
Steven Spielberg, the youngest ever to receive that award (12 June 2002).
Returned to his old high school, Skyline High School in Oakland, California, to dedicate a renovated theater named for Rawley T. Farnsworth, the retired drama teacher he thanked in his
Philadelphia (1993) Oscar speech. Oakland Tribune reports Hanks donated about 1/4 of the $465,000 cost of the project. Then he led the audience of some 1000 people in a chorus of "There's No Business Like Show Business" (6 March 2002).
According to
Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), he is a huge Trekkie and the first time the two met, Star Trek was the only thing he wanted to talk about. Hanks was actually the original choice to play Zefram Cochrane in
Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and desperately wanted to play the role, but had to back out due to his earlier commitment to
That Thing You Do! (1996).
Is a member of the International Thespian Society (a group supporting theatre for high school students internationally).
Father, with
Rita Wilson, of
Chet Hanks (born on 4 August 1990) and Truman Theodore (born on 26 December 1995).
Jim Lovell, whom Hanks played in
Apollo 13 (1995), is actually left-handed, but Hanks refused to write with his left hand for the movie.
He is a third cousin, four generations removed, of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Their common ancestor is John Hanks (1680 - 1740), who was the great-great-grandfather of Lincoln, and the great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of Tom Hanks. It is commonly (albeit incorrectly) reported that they are fourth cousins, four times removed, but Thomas Hanks (b. 1819) and Abraham Lincoln were both great-great-grandchildren of John Hanks, making them third cousins. Tom Hanks was Thomas Hanks' great-great-grandson, making his relation to Abraham Lincolns four generations removed.
Ranked #13 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #15 in 2002.
Is a diehard Cleveland Indians baseball team fan.
Ranked #1 on Star TV's Top Ten Box Office stars of the 1990s (2003)
Lost 30 lbs. for his role in
Philadelphia (1993).
Gained and later lost 50 lbs. for his role in
Cast Away (2000).
Is a fan of English Premier League soccer team Aston Villa and was presented with a shirt on a TV show with the print 'Hanks 1' on the back.
Has been referred to by many as "the modern
James Stewart".
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 205-206. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
His heroic Oscar-winning gay character Andrew Beckett in the 1993 film
Philadelphia (1993) was ranked #49 on the Amerian Film Institute's heroes list of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villians.
He was voted the 26th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
His three favourite bands/artists are
Elvis Presley, Patrick Rondat and Alabama Thunderpussy.
His first wife
Samantha Lewes died of cancer 14 years after their divorce.
Had made three films with director
Steven Spielberg, all of which are tied to Europe.
Saving Private Ryan (1998) revolved around his character and his infantry unit seeking out a missing private in Europe during WW II.
Catch Me If You Can (2002) involved his character tracking down
Frank Abagnale Jr. in France and in
The Terminal (2004), his character was from the fictional eastern European country of Krakohzia.
Shortly before the release of Columbia Pictures'
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), he was one of several actors speaking out against the use of "synthespians" (computer-generated actors) in the place of flesh-and-blood humans. Nevertheless, he took the lead role in the computer-animated film
The Polar Express (2004), a film highly-publicized for its use of new (and expensive) technique of digital actors.
Between 1994 and 2004, he was the performer nominated for the most Academy Awards (four times, along with
Sean Penn,
Meryl Streep,
Julianne Moore,
Judi Dench and
Ed Harris) and won the most (twice).
Was considered for the role of Peter Banning (Peter Pan) in
Hook (1991).
Was listed as a potential nominee on both the 2005 and 2007 Razzie Award nominating ballots. He was suggested in the Worst Actor category on the 2005 ballot for his roles in the films
The Polar Express (2004) (referred to as "Bi-Polar Express" on the ballot),
The Ladykillers (2004) and
The Terminal (2004). He was suggested again in the Worst Actor category two years later, for his performance in
The Da Vinci Code (2006). He failed receive either nomination.
Has been good friends with
Bruce Springsteen since his youth.
He once worked as a hotel bellman. Some of the celebrity guests whose bags he carried were
Cher,
Sidney Poitier,
Slappy White and
Bill Withers.
Premiere Magazine ranked him as #28 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).
He is an environmental conservationist and often advocates and supports natural causes.
In three of his movies, he has had a scene where he is stranded at sea:
Splash (1984),
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), and
Cast Away (2000).
Has worked with two actors who played
Howard Hughes. In
Philadelphia (1993), he worked with
Jason Robards, who played Hughes in
Melvin and Howard (1980) for director
Jonathan Demme. His cast mate in
Catch Me If You Can (2002) was
Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Hughes in
The Aviator (2004) for
Martin Scorsese.
He and actress
Meg Ryan have been co-stars in three movies as love interests:
Sleepless in Seattle (1993),
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and
You've Got Mail (1998).
Shares his birthday with
Jack White,
David O'Hara,
Courtney Love,
Chris Cooper,
O.J. Simpson and
Donald Rumsfeld.
His ancestors originally came from England. The name "Hanks" can be traced back several centuries.
Born to Amos Mefford Hanks, a chef, and his wife Janet Marylyn Frager, a hospital worker, his parents divorced in 1960.
Has been Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Actors Branch) since 2001.
Related to
Bill Cosby's wife
Camille O. Cosby (née Camille Olivia Hanks), as both share a biological lineage to
Abraham Lincoln through his mother, Nancy Hanks.
Stepson of the former Frances Wong, whom his father married in 1965.
Sold popcorn and peanuts as a teenager at the Oakland Coliseum.
His performance as Josh Baskin in
Big (1988) is ranked #15 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
His performance as Chuck Noland in
Cast Away (2000) is ranked #46 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
He and President
George Bush are both related to 19th-century Presidents. Bush, a Republican, is descended, by way of his mother's family, from Franklin Pierce, one of the last Democratic presidents before
Abraham Lincoln. Hanks, a Democrat, is descended from the family of Lincoln's mother.
His top five all-time favorite films are
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968),
The Godfather (1972),
Fargo (1996),
Elephant (2003) and
Boogie Nights (1997), with
Stanley Kubrick's film holding the top ranking.
His performance as Forrest Gump in
Forrest Gump (1994) is ranked #43 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Is the second most-represented actor (behind
Sidney Poitier and
Gary Cooper) on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, with four of his films making the list. They are:
Forrest Gump (1994) at #37,
Philadelphia (1993) at #20,
Apollo 13 (1995) at #12, and
Saving Private Ryan (1998) at #10.
Ranked #16 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked #16 in 2005 as well.
Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". Volume 244, pages 199-202. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2006.
He once shared a record (with
Tom Cruise and
Will Smith) as the actor to star in the most consecutive $100 million-grossing movies (7). As of 2008, Smith holds the record alone with 8 movies.
Frequently works with director
Steven Spielberg, and is related to Nancy Hanks, the mother of
Abraham Lincoln. Ironically, he is not involved in Spielberg's film about Lincoln, despite his frequent involvement in historical projects.
Both his maternal grandparents, though born in California, had Portuguese ancestry, originally from the Azores Islands.
Forbes magazine estimated his 1999 earnings at $71.5 million.
Cited as America's Favorite Movie Star in Harris Polls conducted in 2002, 2004, 2005, a record number of times as the #1 favorite.
Harrison Ford and
Clint Eastwood are the only other actors to have achieved that feat.
Was a member of Monty Python for one night only, filling in for
John Cleese, at A Concert For George.
Married
Rita Wilson at Saint Sophia's Church, converting from Roman Catholicism to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Was in attendance at
Princess Diana's funeral along with
Steven Spielberg,
Tom Cruise,
Nicole Kidman, among others.
Auditioned for the role of Joel in
Risky Business (1983), which eventually went to
Tom Cruise.
Has also credited
Joe Spano, former co-star of the TV series
"Hill Street Blues" (1981), as being another of his most important early inspirations.
Favorite baseball team is the Cleveland Indians. He purchased a stone in the front of Jacob's Field when it was built.
In 2007, Forbes Magazine reported that his earnings were estimated to be $74 million the previous year.
The asteroid "12818 tomhanks" was named after him.
Enjoys collecting typewriters, purchasing over 80 of them around the globe.
Publicly endorsed Senator
Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
Is a die hard Oakland Raiders fan. Featured in the documentary
Rebels of Oakland: The A's, the Raiders, the '70s (2003) (TV).
Is a fan of
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999), and has expressed desire to one day guest star on the show.
Is a fan of
"Doctor Who" (1963).
Was originally cast in the dual role of "Charlie Kaufman/Donald Kaufman" in
Adaptation. (2002), but later dropped out.
Nicolas Cage, who went on to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance, was cast instead.
at feeling of "Please don't let me screw this up". If I didn't have the chance to do what I do, it's that I would miss more than anything. That terror is what makes me feel alive. It's a wonderful feeling, unlike anything else in the world.
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