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| Real Name: Tom Hanks | ||||
| Birthday: July 9, 1956 | ||||
| Place of Birth: Concord, CA | ||||
| Education: Skyline High School, Oakland, CA; Chabot Junior College; California State University, Sacramento | ||||
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Tom Hanks Biography: Not many could have seen in 1980 that one of the young stars of a sitcom about a pair of crafty, sharp advertising executives who cross-dress in order to keep a low-priced apartment in a women's hotel would have emerged as one of the country's most esteemed and ornamented actors of all time. In spite of his humble beginnings, actor Tom Hanks rose from comedy series "Bosom Buddies" (1980-82) to become a treasured Academy Award winning actor and Emmy winning producer and director. Though it took almost ten years to rise from the bottom, Tom Hanks made his name with a tender performance in “Big” (1988), springing to a double Oscar win with “Philadelphia” (1993) and “Forrest Gump” (1994). Tom Hanks continued making film and movie productions while testing the normal-guy personality he created, taking on roles as an oppressive corporate man in “Cast Away” (2000), a mob hit man in “Road to Perdition” (2002) and a cocaine loving and hooker friendly congressman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007), all while decisively cementing himself as the best actor of his generation, as well as being commonly known as “the nicest guy in show business.”
The first year at CSU, Hanks interned at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. He abandoned the university once again in order to spend the next two years with the festival under the direction of famed Irish director Vincent Dowling, earning praise for his performances in “The Taming of the Shrew” and “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.” In 1978, Hanks sold his Volkswagen Beetle and used the money to move to New York City in order to chase his dream of playing the theater on Broadway. Work on the Great White Way was hard to find, though Hanks did manage to be cast in feature with a small part in the terror and horror flick, “He Knows You’re Alone” (1980). Tom Hanks received great reviews with a starring role in the situation comedy “Bosom Buddies,” playing an advertising administrator who moves into a cheap women only hotel with his advertising executive friend (Peter Scolari) on the provision that they both dress like women. Though only on for a couple of years, it was remembered tenderly by the younger generation, who never failed to tell Hanks how much his cross dressing role remained a warmhearted childhood memory for them. Something about the ridiculous show reverberated, and unlike other stars who easily forgot their meek beginnings, Hanks was more than happy to chat about “Bosom Buddies” decades later. He also remained close friends with Scolari.
After “Bosom Buddies” was cancelled, Hanks made a guest appearance on a 1982 episode of "Happy Days" (1973-1984) that overwhelmed cast member Ron Howard enough to cast him as lead in "Splash" (1984), a comic whimsy about a young and charismatic produce salesman who falls in love with an actual mermaid (Daryl Hannah). Tom Hanks seemed guaranteed to become successful in tender comedies. He blew away that idea with a funny, but immature role in "Bachelor Party" (1984), then appeared in a series of comic duds, "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1984), "The Money Pit" (1986) and “Dragnet” (1987), that would have ended a lesser performers career. But in 1988, Tom Hanks had a change of direction with two parts that showed his true talent for the first time. In “Punchline” (1998), he had a strong role as a pushy stand up comedian who first teaches, then competes against a growing female comic (Sally Field). He then played a 12 year old boy ensnared in the body of a 35 year old man in "Big" (1988), a massive comedy smash hit from director Penny Marshall. Hanks was honored with his first of several Academy Award nominations for Best Actor. After the unremarkable “Turner & Hooch” (1989), Hanks starred in the peculiar "Joe Versus the Volcano" (1990) with Meg Ryan, playing a man who is convinced he is dying, and agrees to leap into a isolated island volcano in order to pacify an irritated god. Then, he was badly miscast as a Wall Street deal maker in the massive, tangled clutter, “Bonfire of the Vanities” (1990) with Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. Just when “Big” had seemed to open new doors, Tom Hanks was back where he first started.
The actor next shot into celebrity stardom with his Oscar winning performance in "Philadelphia" (1993) with Denzel Washington, playing a homosexual attorney who is dying of AIDS while working to win a discrimination case after getting fired. Even with the film being bashed by gay and homosexual activists for being too soft on the gay issue, Hanks was applauded for his performance. Hanks next film, “Forrest Gump” (1994), had Hanks playing a young man who leads an amazing life taking part in many of the significant moments of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s despite having an I.Q. of only 75. Tom Hanks showed the appropriate vision necessary for the role sayings like "Stupid is as stupid does" and "Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates: You never know what you're going to get," which became part of the countries vocabulary. The movie touched a tender nerve with viewers, who cheered Forrest's endurance and achievement over one difficulty after another, making “Forrest Gump” the year's highest grossing movie while it won six Academy Awards, including Hanks' second win for Best Actor. Hanks reunited with “Splash” director Ron Howard for "Apollo 13" (1995) with Kevin Bacon, a nervous look at the famous 1970 NASA mission to the moon. Playing astronaut Jim Lovell, a role reported to have been offered to Kevin Costner, Hanks delivered a solid performance as the commander trying to bring his crew back to Earth unharmed. Tom Hanks next lent his talented voice to Woody, a toy cowboy whose standing as top toy of a young boy is endangered by the antics of Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) in "Toy Story" (1995), the first full length computer animated feature. Thanks to his A-list standing, Hanks had the opportunity to show other creative talents, including screenwriting, producing and directing. Tom made his directorial debut with "That Thing You Do!" (1996) with Liv Tyler, a warm comedy about a band that hits overnight stardom off of one song. While not a smash hit, the movie showed Hanks’ zest for bringing out strong performances from a cast of mostly unknowns performers.
Later that same year, he co-starred opposite Meg Ryan in Nora Ephron's "You've Got Mail" (1998), a current revision of the 1940 Stewart and Margaret Sullavan immortal "The Shop Around the Corner" (1940). Hanks next teamed with "Saving Private Ryan" friend Barry Pepper again to play penitentiary guards who become involved with a puzzling prisoner (Michael Clarke Duncan) in "The Green Mile" (1999), an variation of the Stephen King tale. Hanks collaborated again with "Forrest Gump" director Robert Zemeckis on "Cast Away" (2000), the role cast Hanks as a Federal Express employee who gets ensnared on a deserted island after a plane crash. His magnificent performance, for nearly a third of the film Hanks was onscreen by himself, brought him instant and universal critical acclaim and his fifth nomination for Best Actor. Tom Hanks then became involved in the development of a memorial to the men and women who served during WWII. Both Hanks and Steven Spielberg teamed to produce the HBO miniseries, "Band of Brothers" (2001), taken from Stephen Ambrose's book, which followed the soldiers in the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from their training in Georgia in 1942 through their involvement in the invasion of Normandy. Tom also directed one episode of the series, and won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special. Hanks then took on an out of character role, portraying a 1920s Chicago mobster seeking payback for the death of family members in "Road to Perdition" (2002) with Jennifer Jason Leigh.
The actor reunited with Steven Spielberg again for "The Terminal" (2004), playing an Eastern European immigrant Viktor Navorski, who becomes abandoned in a New York City airport terminal because of a peculiarity in international politics and passport law. He then takes up residence and becomes caught up with many of the terminal's transitory residents, including a gorgeous flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Hanks teamed up again with Robert Zemeckis to emerge as multiple characters in the impressive animated variation of the admired children's story, "The Polar Express" (2004). Using hi-tech animation and motion mapping, Hanks was projected onscreen in a range of forms, playing The Conductor, Hero Boy, Santa Claus, the Hobo and the Boy's Father, which were then edited together flawlessly into the movies computer generated final product. Returning to action adventure films, Hanks starred in “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), the much awaited revision of Dan Brown’s epic bestseller about a murder at the Louvre investigated by a famous symbologist, who solves a sinister attempt to keep a secret that has been protected since the time of Jesus Christ. While the script was kept top secret, the notorious nature of the book had kept filmmakers from filing at key locations, including Westminster Abbey, the Vatican, and Rome. Religious groups, already in a frenzy over the books concept, braced for what was almost guaranteed to be a blockbuster movie. Though on paper a gigantic box office success, it took in over $210 million in domestic box office, “The Da Vinci Code” was down played by most media critics and reviewers for not living up to expectations.
After lending his voice to the production of “Cars” (2006) and “The Simpsons Movie” (2007), Hanks helped recount “The War” (PBS, 2007-08), Ken Burns’ stunning and inclusive look at everyday Americans fighting in World War II. Hanks then starred in the political satire, “Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007), adapted by Aaron Sorkin from George Crile’s true story. Tom played “Good Time Charlie” Wilson, a United States congressman with a flair for prostitutes and cocaine, whose deep nationalism and disappointment with American foreign policy leads him to team up with the richest woman in Texas (Julia Roberts) and a middle class CIA worker (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to fund the Mujahideen fighters after the Soviets invade Afghanistan. Hanks wrapped up the year with dramatic comedy "The Great Buck Howard" (2008) about a young man, much to the chagrin of his father, becomes the new assistant to an illusionist in decline. Tom Hanks has three movies waiting for release including the mystery thriller "Angels & Demons" (2009) an adaptation of the Dan Brown novel about Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon who works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican. Next is the animated comedy "Toy Story 3" (2010) where Woody, Buzz, and the rest of their toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, departs for college. And wrapping up the year is the western drama "Boone's Lick" (2010) a story that revolves around a headstrong woman who drags her family on a rickety wagon from Boone's Lick, Mo., to the Wyoming fort where her husband lives.
Family
Education
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Born on July 9, 1956 in Concord, CA,
Tom Hanks was
reared by Amos, a cook and café manager, and Janet, a hospice worker. In 1960, his father
moved the family to Reno, NV to start a new life, later divorcing Janet. After
his second marriage failed, his father picked up the family and relocated to
Oakland, CA, where Hanks spent his early years. Growing up a miserable and
often perplexed child, Hanks wanted stability wherever he could find it. At
Skyline High School, he played soccer and ran track team, but became a born-again
Christian, joining the fundamentalist First Covenant Church of Oakland. Tom Hanks’ true deliverance came when he discovered
acting. With the support of high school drama teacher Rawley Farnsworth, whom he would
prominently thank after winning his first Oscar in 1993, Hanks jumped head-long into the
industry, playing the role of cross-dresser Luther Billis in a
production of “South Pacific.” After graduating, he enlisted at Chabot
Community College, leaving after a year to become a theater major at California
State University at Sacramento in 1976.
Because of the misfortune
of “Bonfire of the Vanities,” Hanks
reportedly convinced Penny Marshall to cast him for the lead role in "A League of Their
Own" (1992) with 
Hanks grew his resume after
producing his dream-come-true project, "From the Earth to the Moon" (HBO, 1998), a
13-part mini series
that examined the history of the United States NASA space program. Serving as
executive producer on the project, Hanks also directed the production, sharing the 1998 Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries
with co-producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Next, Hanks was cast by Steven Spielberg for his
praised World War II epic, "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), playing an
army captain leading a immature squad of soldiers on a mission to locate a missing
serviceman (
His next film, “Catch Me If You Can” (2002), reunited him with
Steven Spielberg
who cast him as Carl Hanratty, a FBI fraud investigator on the
trail of the youngest con artist in history to make the 10 Most Wanted list, Frank
Abagnale, Jr. (