List of Tom Hanks performances



Tom Hanks is an American actor, voice-actor, child-actor, dancer, character actor, author, art-director, screenwriter, dancer, singer, director, film-producer, and filmmaker who has had an extensive career in films, television, and on the stage. Hanks made his professional acting debut on the stage playing Grumio, in the Great Lakes Theater production of The Taming of the Shrew (1977). He made his film debut with a minor role in the horror film He Knows You're Alone (1980). In the same year, Hanks appeared in the television series Bosom Buddies. His role in the show led to guest appearances on a variety of long running television shows including Happy Days. Hanks' appearance on the show led film director Ron Howard to cast him in his first leading role in the fantasy romantic comedy Splash (1984). He went on to host Saturday Night Live for the first time in 1985 (a show he has since hosted nine times as of 2016), star in films such as Nothing in Common (1986) and Dragnet (1987) before playing his breakthrough role in the age-changing comedy Big (1988). For his performance in the film, Hanks garnered his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 1993, he starred opposite Meg Ryan in the Nora Ephron-directed romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle. Later that year, he played the role of a gay lawyer suffering from AIDS, fighting discrimination in his law firm in the drama Philadelphia. For his performance, Hanks earned his first Academy Award for Best Actor. For his next film, the romantic comedy-drama Forrest Gump (1994), he received a consecutive second Academy Award for Best Actor which made Hanks the first actor since Spencer Tracy in 1938 to achieve this feat. In 1995, he played astronaut Jim Lovell, in Howard-directed historical drama, Apollo 13, and voiced Sheriff Woody in the animated film Toy Story.

Hanks made his debut as a director and screenwriter in the 1996 musical comedy That Thing You Do! Later in the same year, he founded with Gary Goetzman, his own film and television production company called Playtone. In 1998, Hanks executive produced the Emmy Award-winning docudrama miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and starred in Steven Spielberg-directed epic war film, Saving Private Ryan, which earned him his fourth nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Later that year, he reunited with Meg Ryan in another Ephron directed-romantic comedy, You've Got Mail. He also reprised his role in Toy Story, for its sequel, Toy Story 2. In 2000, Hanks starred in Cast Away, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and a fifth nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2001, he executive produced Emmy Award-winning World War II mini-series Band of Brothers and the romantic comedy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The following year at the age of 45, he became the youngest person to receive the lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute. This was followed in 2004, by BAFTA Los Angeles awarding him the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.

In 2006, he played Professor Robert Langdon in the Howard-directed adaptation of the best-selling book of the same name, The Da Vinci Code. Two years later he executive produced musical comedy Mamma Mia (2008) and Emmy Award-winning mini-series John Adams (2008). In 2010, he reprised his role in Toy Story in its second sequel, Toy Story 3 and also executive produced the Emmy Award-winning mini-series The Pacific. He made a return in 2011 to directing in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne. The following year he starred in The Wachowskis-directed film adaptation of the novel of the same name Cloud Atlas (2012) and executive produced the Emmy Award-winning mini-series Game Change (2012). Hanks made his Broadway debut in 2013 in Ephron's play, Lucky Guy, which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. In 2017, he played the titular character in the YouTube animated web-series The Musical World of Mr. Zoink.