BIOGRAPHY:

Tom Hanks is one of the most sought-after actors. Publications talking about him use terms like “god” and “icon.” His characters are mostly positive, but unpredictable every time. He played six characters in Cloud Atlas and regrets that he played only one in Apollo 13. And how great it would be to control space and time, Hanks admitted.

Childhood and youth:

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born on July 9, 1956 in Concord, California. He was the third of four children (he has a sister, Sandra, an older brother, Larry, and a younger brother, Jim) of restaurant chef Amos Mefford Hanks, an Englishman, and a Portuguese hospital employee, Janet Marilyn Freger. The artist’s direct relatives include Nancy Hanks, the mother of the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln.

When the future artist was four years old, his parents separated. After the divorce, the mother raised her youngest son, Jim, and the three older children remained with their father. In 1965, the man married Frances Wong. Tom’s stepmother had three children, two of whom lived with the Hanks.

Thomas moved often and got used to quickly meeting and saying goodbye to people. At each new place of study, Hanks enrolled in a theater club. After school, the young man entered the University of California to study dramatic art and participated in the annual Shakespeare Festival. As soon as an acting troupe from Cleveland made him an offer, Tom left his alma mater and went to conquer the theater stage.

Movies:

The artist’s film debut was Armand Mastroianni’s slasher film He Knows You’re Alone (1980). The film was a box office success, grossing $4.8 million in theaters against a budget of $250 thousand.

Tom gained recognition through his leading role in the romantic comedy Splash, which became a box office hit, grossing more than $69 million. Hanks’s partner was Daryl Hannah, who received the Saturn Award from critics.

Thomas received his first awards for his performance in the comedy “Bolshoi” (1988), which made him a star. For the role of a 12-year-old teenager in an adult body, the actor was awarded a Golden Globe and nominated for an Oscar. The film grossed $151.7 million and was included in the top 100 best comedies according to the American Film Institute.

In 1994, Hanks received his first Oscar. The legal drama “Philadelphia” (1993), dedicated to the topic of homosexuality and AIDS, was remembered by movie lovers not only for the intimacy scene between the characters of Hanks and Antonio Banderas, but also for the trial. The film’s creators based the plot on the true story of lawyer Jeffrey Bowers, but did so without the permission of his family. As a result, the lawsuit was withdrawn, and the terms of the agreement between the parties were not covered in the press.

For the sake of filming the psychological drama “Forrest Gump,” Hanks refused to star in “Jerry Maguire” and was right, as he added to his collection of gold-plated figurines. The film became the most successful project of Robert Zemeckis – it received 38 awards, including 6 Oscars, and became the leader in box office receipts ($678 million) in 1994. The cast also included Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, whose performance was awarded a Golden Globe, and Mykelti Williamson, who won the MTV Movie Awards for Breakthrough of the Year.

The next notable project in Tom’s creative biography is Steven Spielberg’s epic war drama Saving Private Ryan (1998), listed as a US cultural heritage site. Hanks was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Award, MTV Movie & TV Awards, but never won.

The director assembled a whole team of stars in the cast; in addition to Hanks, the main cast included Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Jeremy Davis, Vin Diesel – all of them underwent serious military training.

$70 million was spent on filming. Such a high budget is due to the large number of extras – more than a thousand people participated in the landing episode on Omaha Beach alone, which was filmed in 4 weeks and $11 million. The release justified the costs many times over, making the box office nearly $482 million, and became the most profitable film of the year at the American box office.

According to Stephen King, the film adaptation of his death row novel of the same name, The Green Mile, starring Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt and Michael Clarke Duncan, is the most faithful adaptation of his work.

In the adventure drama Cast Away (2000) by Robert Zemeckis, Hanks not only played the leading role of a former office worker who ends up on a desert island, but also made his debut as a producer. The story about modern Robinson grossed $429.6 million. Before filming began, Tom gained 23 kg, and then, to show the changes in the hero’s appearance, work on the project was stopped for a year, during which the artist lost weight and grew his hair and beard.

This role brought Thomas an Oscar nomination, but in 2001 Russell Crowe received the statuette for his role in the film Gladiator. Hanks was also nominated for the MTV Movie Awards for his kiss with Helen Hunt.

In 2004, Steven Spielberg’s project “Terminal” was released about a character who, due to a change in political course, was stuck in an airport. The plot is based on the true story of an Iranian refugee who lived in a Paris airport for 18 years – DreamWorks paid him $250 thousand for the use of the biography. The film premiered at the opening of the Venice Film Festival.

Tom’s popularity in the new century is not inferior to that which accompanied him in his youth. He worked with Leonardo DiCaprio in the adventurous comedy Catch Me If You Can, with Julia Roberts in Larry Crowne, and with Meg Ryan in the romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail.

A new round of fame for Hanks was provided by a series of film adaptations of Dan Brown’s books. The first film in the trilogy, “The Da Vinci Code,” caused a wave of criticism from both Catholic and Orthodox organizations due to its insult to the Holy Scriptures. In a number of countries, such as India, Egypt, China, the film was banned from showing.

This did not stop the thriller from opening the 59th Cannes Film Festival and collecting $758.2 million at the box office, and the producers from investing $150 million in the filming of the sequel “Angels and Demons,” of which $51 million was Hanks’ fee.

Even though the negative review from the Vatican increased attention to the film adaptations, the plot of the second part of the series was significantly changed, presenting the church in a favorable light. As a result, in reviews of the official Vatican publication, the thriller “Angels and Demons” was called “harmless entertainment,” but audience interest also dropped. If “The Da Vinci Code” grossed $758 in theaters, then the sequel’s box office was already $486 million, and the third part, “Inferno,” brought the creators $220 million.

In 2020, Tom’s filmography was supplemented by the biographical drama film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” directed by Marielle Heller. The film was presented at the Toronto International Film Festival and brought Hanks many nominations, including an Oscar, but the statue itself went to Brad Pitt for his role in the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The following year, Miguel Sapochnik’s sci-fi drama Finch was released. The post-apocalyptic story about a robot was ready for release in theaters back in 2020, but due to the pandemic, the premiere was postponed until the film was acquired by the Apple TV+ service.

Charity:

The actor is known for his charitable activities, and he tries to provide assistance without involving journalists. It is known that Tom participated in raising funds for victims of fires that occurred in Greece in 2018.

Previously, he provided targeted assistance to a marathon athlete, a visually impaired person from Yakutsk, who completed a round-the-world run. The Hollywood star tries to help those people who are nearby. For example, he often arranges lunches for cafe visitors at his own expense when he goes to fast food restaurants with his family.

The artist tries to approach philanthropy creatively. Together with Paul McCartney, he participated in charity Shakespeare readings. All funds received during the evening were transferred to youth and veterans’ funds.

In 2016, the actor, along with Robert De Niro, Michael Jordan, and Bill Gates, won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian award in the United States.

Personal life:

There are two periods in the actor’s personal life, associated with his first and second marriages. In 1978, Tom married a fellow student at the University of California, Samantha Lewis. The family had a son, Colin, and a daughter, Elizabeth Ann.

Later, the artist recalled this union as “very difficult from beginning to end.” The couple separated due to financial differences in 1987. In his youth, the actor was not yet able to provide for all the needs of the family, which became a test for the husband and wife.

Colin Hanks is the star of the TV series Fargo and Alien City, the fantasy Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and a Golden Globe nominee. Elizabeth Ann made her film debut in a cameo role in Forrest Gump, works as a literary editor and writes articles for periodicals.

Rita Wilson:

Tom’s second wife was actress Rita Wilson. They met while working on the TV series Bosom Buddies in 1981, then met again on the set of the comedy Volunteers (1985), and got married in 1988.

Tom’s wife Rita is Greek by origin, so the couple often visits the actress’s historical homeland. A family of Hollywood stars has chosen the island of Antiparos. Here Hanks built a house in which he and his family spend every summer.

By religion, Tom was a Catholic for a long time, after which, under the influence of his wife, he converted to Orthodoxy. Today the actor is a parishioner and trustee of the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The change of confession allowed the couple to get married. In 2019, the artist received Greek citizenship.

Rita gave the actor sons Chester (Chet) Marlon and Truman Theodore. Chet Hanks has survived alcohol and drug addiction, is fond of hip-hop and loves to demonstrate his commitment to this culture on the Internet.

In an interview, Tom said that he suffers from diabetes and therefore rejects offers for filming that require him to lose weight or gain weight. He has already “eaten up to 100 kg and then lost 30 kg” for the sake of the role and does not intend to repeat such experiments. Now the actor’s weight is around 75 kg, his height is 183 cm.

Scandals:

In the spring of 2020, Tom Hanks suffered real persecution related to child abduction and pedophilia. According to a conspiracy theory, Harvey Weinstein, who was arrested for harassment, made a plea deal and revealed many accomplices who were involved in child molestation.

This allegedly happened on the island where the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, a financier previously convicted of trafficking girls, was located. The entrepreneur was closely acquainted with many politicians and Hollywood stars who participated in secret orgies. Among them are Madonna, Hillary Clinton and her husband, Beyoncé, James Franco, Ben Affleck, Demi Moore, Will Smith and Tom Hanks.

The goal of the Masons was to obtain a special substance – adrenochrome, which is allegedly produced in infants during terrible torment. For sectarians, it is the elixir of immortality, which prolongs life and youth. Allegedly, all participants, in addition to sexual harassment and abuse of children, drank the blood of the tortured at the end of the orgy.

Accusations rained down on representatives of show business, including Tom Hanks. Information has emerged about the secret language of the conspiracy participants, in which the word “pizza” means a boy, and “pasta” means a girl.

A certain Sarah Ruth added some food for thought. She said that as a child, her father sold her to participate in secret orgies, which were attended by Tom Hanks. Tattoos on the body of his son Colin were cited as further evidence of the Hollywood actor’s involvement in a secret society. The young man decorated his torso with unambiguous images of Masonic symbols.

According to conspiracy theorists, in 2020, adrenochrome was infected with coronavirus in Wuhan, after which people from the secret community began to get sick. The public also assumed that all the quarantine fuss was a cover for an operation to identify people involved in orgies, for whom US intelligence began a real hunt.

Tom Hanks now:

Now the actor continues his creative career. In 2022, Baz Luhrmann’s biopic “Elvis” was added to his filmography. Elvis Presley was portrayed by Austin Butler, who beat out Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller and Harry Styles for the role. Hanks got the role of the producer of the king of rock and roll. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

Tom, along with Cynthia Erivo and Luke Evans, entered the cast of the musical “Pinocchio” directed by Robert Zemeckis. A modern adaptation of the 1940 Disney classic Pinocchio, as well as another Disney remake of Peter Pan and Wendy, are scheduled to be shown on the Disney+ service.

Filmography:

1984 — “Splash”
1988 — “Big”
1993 — Sleepless in Seattle
1993 – Philadelphia
1994 — “Forrest Gump”
1998 — “Saving Private Ryan”
1999 — “Green Mile”
2000 — “Outcast”
2002 – “Catch Me If You Can”
2009 — “Angels and Demons”
2012 — “Cloud Atlas”
2013 — “Saving Mr. Banks”
2015 — “Bridge of Spies”
2017 — “Sphere”
2019 — “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
2020 — “Greyhound”
2020 — “News from all over the world”
2021 — “Finch”
2022 — “Elvis”
2022 — “Pinocchio”

Interesting Facts:

In addition to acting and producing, Tom Hanks became interested in literary work – he published the book “A Unique Copy. Stories about this and that.”
The Hollywood star is a fighter for environmental cleanliness. Even as a child, the actor began to separate waste collection, and was perhaps the first in America to use an electric car and a Tesla car.
Subscribers to Hanks’ Instagram account (the social network is banned in the Russian Federation; it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) noticed that the actor often posted strange posts. The artist took photos of things left on the street: shoes, toys, clothes and even pacifiers for newborns.