ACTOR · BORN 1956
Tom Hanks
- Born
- 9 July 1956, Concord, California, USA
- Known for
- Forrest Gump (1994), Toy Story (1995), The Green Mile (1999), Saving Private Ryan (1998)
153 archived facts 5 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Sep 2026
Tom Hanks: 15 Facts About Characters and Roles
- #011
Tom Hanks gained weight to play Chuck Noland in Cast Away (2000) and then lost 55 kilos.
- #026
After Tom Hanks appeared as a one-time guest actor on Happy Days (1974), producer Ron Howard asked him to read for a supporting role in Splash (1984), and he got the lead instead.
- #033
Tom Hanks landed one of the lead roles, Kip Wilson, on the ABC television pilot of Bosom Buddies, playing alongside Peter Scolari as young advertising men forced to dress as women to live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. Hanks had previously partnered with Scolari on the 1970s game show Make Me Laugh, and after landing the role he moved to Los Angeles.
- #034
Tom Hanks outbid other studios by paying $1 million for the film rights to A Cold Case, a true-crime story about a detective's quest to solve the 1970 murder of a New York restaurateur. He is interested in starring in the film as well as producing it.
- #036
Tom Hanks and his close friend Meg Ryan starred together in three romantic films: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and You've Got Mail (1998).
- #039
Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who were writing Splash, suggested that director Ron Howard consider Tom Hanks for the film. Howard first thought of Hanks for the main character's wisecracking brother, a part that went to John Candy, but Hanks instead won the lead role.
- #055
Tom Hanks and Sally Field co-starred as struggling comedians in Punchline, released later in 1988 after Big.
- #072
Tom Hanks starred in Robert Zemeckis's Forrest Gump (1994) as the title character, a man with an IQ of 75 who becomes involved with major events in recent American history.
- #075
Tom Hanks was wanted for the lead role in Jerry Maguire (1996), which ultimately went to Tom Cruise.
- #090
Tom Hanks lost 30 kilos for the role of Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia (1993).
- #094
Tom Hanks also cited Joe Spano, a former lead actor on the television series Hill Street Blues (1981), as one of his first sources of inspiration.
- #097
Tom Hanks auditioned for the role of Joel Goodson in Risky Business (1983), and the part ultimately went to Tom Cruise.
- #105
Shortly before the premiere of Columbia Pictures' Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), Tom Hanks was one of several actors who spoke out against the use of "synthespians" (computer-generated actors) in place of flesh-and-blood people. Nevertheless, he took the lead role in the computer-animated The Polar Express (2004), a heavily publicized film that used the new (and expensive) technique of digital actors.
- #110
Tom Hanks was considered for the role of Peter Banning (Peter Pan) in Hook (1991), which went to Robin Williams.
- #119
Jim Lovell, whom Hanks portrayed in Apollo 13 (1995), was in fact left-handed, but Hanks refused to write with his left hand for the film.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Tom Hanks — Wikipedia
- IMDb IMDb
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