American leading actor Tom Hanks has
become one of the most popular stars in contemporary American cinema. Born July
9, 1956 in Concord, California, Hanks spent much of his childhood moving about
with his father, an itinerant cook, and continually attempting to cope with
constantly changing schools, religions, and stepmothers. After settling in
Oakland, California, he began performing in high school plays. He continued
acting while attending Cal State, Sacramento, and left to pursue his vocation
full-time. In 1978, Hanks went to find work in New York; while there he married
actress-producer Samantha Lewes, whom he later divorced.
Hanks debuted onscreen in the low-budget slasher
movie He Knows You're Alone (1979). Shortly afterwards he moved to Los
Angeles and landed a co-starring role in the TV sitcom Bosom Buddies; he
also worked occasionally in other TV series such as Taxi and Family
Ties, as well as in the TV movie Mazes and Monsters. Hanks finally
became prominent when he starred opposite Daryl
Hannah in the Disney comedy Splash!, which became the sleeper hit
of 1984. Audiences were drawn to the lanky, curly headed actor's amiable, laid
back style and keen sense of comic timing. He went on to appear in a string of
mostly unsuccessful comedies before starring Big
(1988), in which he gave a delightful performance as a child in a grown man's
body. His 1990 film Bonfire of the Vanities was one of the biggest bombs
of the year, but audiences seemed to forgive his lapse. In 1992, Hanks' star
again rose when he played the outwardly disgusting, inwardly warm-hearted coach
in Penny
Marshall's A League of Their Own. This led to a starring role in
the smash hit romantic comedy Sleepless
in Seattle (1993).
Although a fine comedic actor, Hanks earned
critical respect and an even wider audience when he played the tormented
AIDS-afflicted homosexual lawyer in the drama Philadelphia
(1993) and won that year's Oscar for "Best Actor." In 1994 he won
again for his convincing portrait of the slow-witted but phenomenally lucky Forrest
Gump, and his success continued with the smash space epic Apollo
13 (1995). In 1996, Hanks tried his hand at screenwriting, directing and
starring in a feature: That Thing You Do!, an upbeat tale of a one-hit
wonder group and their manager. The film was not particularly successful, unlike
Hanks' next directing endeavor, the TV miniseries From Earth to the Moon.
The series was nominated for and won a slew of awards, including a series of
Emmys. The success of this project was outdone by Hanks' next, Steven
Spielberg's Saving
Private Ryan (1998). Ryan won vast critical acclaim and was
nominated for eleven Oscars, including a Best Actor nomination for Hanks. The
film won five, including a Best Director Oscar for Spielberg, but lost Best
Picture to Shakespeare
in Love, a slight that was to become the subject of controversy. No
controversy surrounded Hanks' following film, Nora
Ephron's You've
Got Mail (1998), a romantic comedy that paired Hanks with his Sleepless
co-star, Meg
Ryan. Although the film got mixed reviews, it was popular with
filmgoers, and thus provided Hanks with another success to add to his resume.
Hanks, who in October 1997 was ranked by Empire
Magazine as 17th out of "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time," is
married to actress Rita
Wilson, with whom he appeared in Volunteers
(1985). The couple have two children in addition to Hanks' other two from his
previous marriage. -- Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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