Throughout the past four decades, the two-time Oscar winner has built up a résumé of inspiring roles solidifying his spot in acting history. Although, even Tom Hanks gets starstruck when he sees a silver screen icon…
Hanks is often known as Hollywood’s nice guy, and he is always the first to come to the defense of his wife, Rita Wilson. In a video that recently re-circulated online, he can be seen telling fans to “back the f*** off” after one of them accidentally bumped into her.
Let’s discover how the universally loved actor became one of the most successful actors in Hollywood.
Inside Tom Hanks’ life
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California, meaning he has recently celebrated his 66th birthday. His parents divorced when he was 5 years old. He was raised by his father, a chef named Amos, alongside his older brother and sister.
Hanks’ biographer, David Gardner, wrote, “By the time he was 10, Tom had had three mothers, gone to five different schools, and lived in 10 different homes. At one stage, he had so many siblings and stepbrothers and stepsisters that he was known simply as ‘Number Eight’” as per the Independent.
Hanks met his first wife, actress, and producer Samantha Lewes (Susan Dillingham), while he was in college. He was just 21 when he married Lewes in 1978 and they quickly had two children, Colin and Elizabeth, before divorcing in 1987.
In 1988, he married actress Rita Wilson, who you may have seen as his co-star in Volunteers. Hanks and Wilson have two children, Chester and Truman.
Tom Hanks health update 2022
In an October 2013 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Hanks revealed that he was facing a debilitating health battle. “I went to the doctors and they said, ‘You know those high blood sugar numbers you’ve been living with since you were 36? Well, you’ve graduated. You’ve got Type 2 diabetes,’” he revealed.
His health also took a toll in 2020, when he was one of the first celebrities to contract COVID-19. He and Rita were in Australia at the time. Hanks told The Guardian, that the couple was hospitalized for several days, Wilson had a fever and was nauseous, whereas Hanks had “crippling body aches” and extreme fatigue.
Inside Tom Hanks’ career and working with Spielberg
After graduating high school in Oakland, he transferred from junior college into the theater program at California State University. He spent his spare time acting and worked at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Ohio for extra experience.
In 1980 he dropped out of college and moved to New York City to pursue acting, that same year, Hanks was cast as Kip Wilson on the sitcom Bosom Buddies. The adoration he received from this role landed him guest roles on Happy Days, Taxi, The Love Boat, and Family Ties.
In 1988, Hanks landed his breakthrough role in Big, his performance earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Following this, he starred in Nora Ephron’s 1993 hit Sleepless in Seattle before landing a role as a lawyer in Philadelphia, which landed him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Hanks is arguably best known for his role in Forrest Gump as he bagged his second Best Actor Oscar. He then decided to take a brief break from acting in order to make his directorial and screenwriting debut in 1996 with That Thing You Do!
Hanks and Steven Spielberg have had a decades-long relationship since Tom starred in World War II drama Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, and The Terminal.
Spielberg gave tribute to Hanks during his AFI Life Achievement Award, saying “Tom Hanks’ achievements in the film are very many, but perhaps his greatest contribution so far is that he instills a great hope in us all for a world where ordinary people have a voice.”
Tom Hanks got imposter syndrome from Paul Newman
Hanks appeared on the “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard” podcast where he explained what it was like to film the 2002 crime drama “Road to Perdition” with Paul Newman. In the film, Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, while Newman plays Irish mob boss John Rooney.
Tom Hanks says he was forced to face his imposter syndrome when working with the late actor, who tragically passed away in September 2008 at the age of 83 due to cancer.
When asked if he’d experienced imposter syndrome during filming, Hanks said “absolutely. I made one movie with Mr. Paul Newman. It took a bit for me to make peace with that fact — I’m in a movie with Paul Newman,” Hanks said, feeling starstruck.
Although, it wasn’t just Hanks feeling immersed in the experience, as he recalls: “There wasn’t a soul on the soundstage that wasn’t thinking, ‘This is the first take of the movie that I am in with Paul Newman. I am going to remember this moment for the rest of my life.’”
Hanks then gave an insight into how humble Newman was, “He did the scene and there was a moment of silence. Then, he looked at us all and he said, ‘The first day you feel kind of self-conscious, don’t ya?’ And everybody was released from any sort of bondage of honor that we were feeling. That was the guy.”
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