A lonely childhood didn't stop Tom Hanks from achieving his goals. From movie producing to Oscar winning performances as a loveable cowboy, Tom Hanks transformation is nothing short of inspiring!
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00:00A lonely childhood didn't stop Tom Hanks from achieving his goals. From movie producing
00:05to Oscar-winning performances as a lovable cowboy, Tom Hanks' transformation is nothing
00:10short of inspiring.
00:12While we know him best as one of Hollywood's favorite actors, before he hit fame, Tom Hanks
00:17was just a little boy forced to face the harsh reality of his parents' divorce. Hanks recalled
00:22on the Too Dope Queens podcast,
00:24"[My parents split up, the first time when I was five.] The separation took a toll on
00:28Hanks and his siblings."
00:30During an appearance on Desert Island Discs, Hanks explained that he and his siblings were
00:34too young to understand what was going on, and even worse, no one explained what was
00:39happening, adding,
00:40"'No one said, hey, listen, you guys are great. You haven't done anything wrong.'"
00:44Following the divorce, Hanks lived with his father, who didn't make things easier. Hanks'
00:48father was a nomad that never really settled in one place. Sadly, this lack of stability
00:53was the root of the young actor's struggles with loneliness.
00:56To fight this, Hanks sought solace in acting. He'd often go to the American Conservatory
01:00Theater by himself, as he shared on Desert Island Discs. Hanks described this experience
01:05of visiting the theater alone as, quote, "'incredibly important' to him," and called acting his
01:10"'vocabulary of loneliness.'"
01:13Prior to his breakout role on Bosom Buddies in 1980, Tom Hanks married his college sweetheart
01:18Samantha Lewis and had two children, Colin and Elizabeth. Bosom Buddies ran from 1980
01:24to 1982, and a young Tom Hanks starred alongside Peter Scolari. As fans of the show know, Hanks
01:30and Scolari disguised themselves as women to live in an apartment in New York City that
01:34they were actually able to afford.
01:36In all, Hanks appeared in 37 episodes of the series. MeTV reported that the legendary actor's
01:41salary was modest at the time, with Hanks pulling in about $2,500 a week. The figure
01:46wasn't terrible for the 80s, but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to some of his
01:50more recent paychecks, including the $15 million he received for Toy Story 4, playing the voice
01:56of Woody.
01:57Although Hanks and Lewis would divorce in 1987, it was on set for Bosom Buddies that
02:01he met his now-wife, Rita Wilson. She appeared in the episode titled, "'All You Need Is Love.'"
02:06The show was the first time the pair met in person, but Hanks admitted that he first laid
02:10eyes on Wilson when she appeared as a cheerleader on The Brady Bunch in 1972. He told People,
02:16I was actually at a friend of mine's house when it aired, and I remember thinking,
02:19"'That girl's cute.'"
02:21Tom Hanks has had several memorable years in his life, but 1988 has to be one of the
02:26ones that stick out most, both personally and professionally. That year, Hanks starred
02:30alongside Elizabeth Perkins in Big, one of the classic films that helped launch him to
02:35superstardom.
02:36That same year, Hanks married Rita Wilson, and they soon became one of the most adorable
02:40couples in Hollywood. The pair have been married for almost 35 years, and it's a true testament
02:45to their commitment, because marriages that last that long don't happen too often in Tinseltown.
02:50The couple regularly spills marriage secrets, and they beam over one another in interviews
02:54and award acceptance speeches.
02:56When Hanks was presented with the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2020 Golden
03:00Globes, he got choked up as he thanked his family within the first two minutes of his
03:04speech. He shared,
03:05"'A man is blessed with a family sitting down front like that, a wife who is fantastic in
03:10every way, who has taught me what love is, kids who are braver and stronger and wiser
03:14than their old man is."
03:16In true Hanks fashion, he rebounded with a joke, saying,
03:18"'Cold medicine caused his tears and not his emotions.'"
03:23During the earlier part of the 90s, Hanks and Wilson welcomed two sons, Chet and Truman,
03:27and Hanks starred in several hits, including A League of Their Own and Apollo 13.
03:32The actor enjoyed a particularly packed year in 1993, when one of his most iconic films,
03:37Sleepless in Seattle, came out, making almost everyone in the world want to call into a
03:41radio program to find love.
03:44Hanks starred opposite the great Meg Ryan.
03:46"'If you get a new wife, I'll get you to have sex with her, huh?'
03:50"'I certainly hope so.'"
03:52That same year, Hanks appeared in what would be his first Oscar-winning performance for
03:56his role in Philadelphia. The actor played the role of Andrew Beckett, a gay man who
04:01was fired by his law firm for having HIV. He took his firm to court, and in the process,
04:06Hanks gave the performance of a lifetime.
04:08In his acceptance speech, the actor thanked his wife and two men who'd been a great influence
04:12on him, saying,
04:13"'I would not be standing here if it weren't for...my high school drama teacher, who taught
04:17me that, act well the part, there all the glory lies. And one of my classmates. I mention
04:22their names because they are two of the finest gay Americans, two wonderful men that I had
04:26the good fortune to be associated with, to fall under their inspiration at such a young
04:31age.'"
04:32The year after winning the Oscar for Philadelphia, he nabbed another statue for Forrest Gump.
04:37In 1995, Tom Hanks delved into voice acting, making his debut as the voice of the lead
04:42character Woody in Toy Story. The movie, a stellar work of art, left a lasting impact
04:47on the film industry, making history as the first-ever feature-length computer-animated
04:52film. It grossed over $361 million worldwide, per The Independent.
04:57The film's success led to the release of more sequels, and Hanks reprised his role in all
05:01three subsequent films. While he's done a great job bringing the Woody character to
05:05life, he admits that the role, like many others, came with its own challenges. He delved into
05:10this in a conversation with The New York Times, saying,
05:12"...there are times when my diaphragm is sore at the end of a four- or five-hour recording
05:16session just because the challenge is to wring out every possible option for every piece
05:21of dialogue."
05:22In addition to Toy Story, Hanks has a few more voice acting credits under his belt.
05:26The actor has lent his voice to such projects as Magnificent Desolation, Walking on the
05:30Moon 3D, The Simpsons Movie, and The Polar Express, to name just a few.
05:34"...Christmas may not be important to some people, but it is very important to the rest
05:40of us."
05:42After many years of gracing the big screen, Tom Hanks soon decided he had just as much
05:46talent to offer behind the scenes. In 1996, the actor made his directorial debut with
05:52That Thing You Do, a comedy flick that chronicled the life of a famous pop rock band. At the
05:56box office, the film did okay, and grossed over $25 million in domestic numbers, according
06:02to Box Office Mojo. With his impressive entry into the directing scene, Hanks only further
06:06cemented the idea that he is a man of many talents.
06:09In 2011, nearly two decades after his directorial debut, Hanks found himself behind the camera
06:15yet again for Larry Crown, a romantic comedy where he starred opposite actors Julia Roberts,
06:20Roxana Ortega, and Bryan Cranston. Along with acting in and directing Larry Crown, Hanks
06:25also served as a writer and producer on the movie.
06:28Although his directorial efforts have been few and far between, we hope he'll make a
06:32return to behind the camera soon.
06:34There were years when Tom Hanks had a few hit movies come out at once, and 1998 was
06:39definitely one of them. That year, Hanks showed off his versatility, starring in both You've
06:43Got Mail and Saving Private Ryan, which are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum.
06:48You've Got Mail was special for the actor because it meant a reunion with Meg Ryan.
06:51The same year, he starred in the iconic World War II epic Saving Private Ryan. According
06:56to NBC News, Saving Private Ryan was a box office smash, earning $481.8 million in addition
07:03to five Oscars.
07:05Hanks even went through boot camp to star in the film, giving him a taste of what it
07:08would be like to be in the conditions he was put in during the film. During the late 90s,
07:12he appeared in a few other smashes like The Green Mile. His role as Paul Edgecombe in
07:16that film will forever be one of his most memorable performances.
07:21May God have mercy on your soul."
07:25The 90s might have been a good era for Tom Hanks, but this, as it now appears, was only
07:29the beginning of a rather impressive and successful career. In 2000's Cast Away, Hanks portrayed
07:35the role of Chuck Noland, a FedEx analyst who must go through the hurdle of fending
07:39for himself on a deserted island after the plane he was on crashed into the ocean.
07:43With the role so excellently delivered, Hanks earned himself a Golden Globe Award as well
07:47as an Oscar nomination, both in Best Actor category.
07:51But while this film brought some great rewards, it took a heavy toll on Hanks. He told Entertainment
07:55Weekly of his many solo scenes, saying,
07:58"...it was a burden. And it was a burden because I knew when the time came, there wasn't going
08:02to be anyone else to work off of."
08:04In the remaining years of the early aughts, Hanks continued to be cast in more films,
08:13including Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition and Steven Spielberg's 2002 crime comedy flick
08:19Catch Me If You Can.
08:21Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are a couple that has, through the years, wormed their way into
08:25all of our hearts. But when Hanks and Wilson are not serving couple goals, these two are
08:29teaming up to bring us some masterpieces.
08:32In 2002, Wilson and Hanks teamed up with Gary Getzman to produce My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
08:37The independent romantic comedy would later go on to become the highest-grossing romantic
08:41comedy of all time, according to Entertainment Weekly. Given how well they worked together
08:46as co-producers, it's not surprising to learn that, only a few years later, the couple was
08:50at it again. This time, the couple produced the 2008 musical Mamma Mia!
08:55In 2016, Wilson and Hanks also reprised their roles as co-producers for My Big Fat Greek
09:00Wedding 2, a sequel to the 2002 release.
09:04In 2006, Tom Hanks appeared in The Da Vinci Code, the film adaptation of Dan Brown's 2003
09:09novel of the same name. In the mystery-thriller, Hanks portrayed lead character Robert Langdon.
09:14Though it was met with mixed reviews, The Da Vinci Code went on to become one of the
09:18highest-grossing movies of 2006, according to Box Office Mojo. Nearly three years later,
09:23Hanks reprised his role as Langdon in Angels & Demons, also adapted from Dan Brown's novel
09:28of the same name. In 2016, Hanks once again reprised his role in Inferno, the third sequel
09:33of the Robert Langdon franchise.
09:36Speaking a few months after its release, Hanks shared that his favorite part of playing the
09:39fictional symbologist was getting a chance to be smart.
09:42"'The gift that Dan Brown gave me as an actor is to play a guy who's always curious, who's
09:47always opinionated, and who's always searching for an answer.'"
09:50But while there was an upside to acting in the franchise, Hanks was not particularly
09:54pleased with the quality of the films. In a June 2022 interview with The New York Times,
09:58Hanks described the movies as hooey, adding that they were really nothing except a commercial
10:03enterprise.
10:04Following a long hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Saturday Night Live returned in
10:09April 2020 with a virtual episode that had Tom Hanks hosting from his home. During his
10:14monologue, he joked that since being diagnosed with the coronavirus, he's been more like
10:18America's dad than ever before.
10:21"'Since no one wants to be around me very long, and I make people uncomfortable.'"
10:27Despite the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Hanks had a good 2020,
10:32with two major acting credits to his name. In July, Greyhound, a war flick that saw Hanks
10:37in the lead role as Commander Ernest Krauss, was released on Apple TV+. Later in December,
10:43Paul Greengrass' News of the World, a Western drama, was also released. Hanks starred as
10:47the titular character in 2021's Finch, and in 2022 came Elvis, the much-anticipated biopic
10:54of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley, where Hanks portrayed the singer's manager.
10:58With a career spanning several decades, Hanks will always be a great example of what consistency
11:03and hard work looks like. And the best part? His career is nowhere near over. Tom Hanks
11:08is simply not done yet.