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TOM HANKS BIOGRAPHY |
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Born in Concord, California on July 9, 1956
Thomas J. Hanks was the third of four children of Amos and Janet
Hanks. His parents divorced when young Tom was 5 years old. His
first gained prominence in the early eighties by landing a co-starring
role in the TV series "Bosom Buddies," where he played a man
forced to dress in drag in order to be able to stay at a women's-only
hotel. The show was cancelled after only two seasons. After this
inauspicious start, Hanks didn't make any real waves until 1984,
when his big break came along in the form of a Disney film about
a mermaid. The film was Splash!, and it was a tremendous
box-office success. The young actor then starred in a string of
unremarkable comedies such as Bachelor Party (1984), The Man
with One Red Shoe (1985), and Volunteers (1985), and for a while
it seemed like his career had reached a plateau. In 1988,
however, Hanks starred in Penny Marshall's Big, which earned him
an Oscar? nomination and many favorable reviews. In the film,
Hanks displayed a more poignant side to his comedy that hadn't
really been on display before, proving himself a versatile
performer. This versatility was showcased even more in A League
of Their Own (1992), where Hanks played an out-of-shape
ex-baseball player coaching a women's team.
The very next year, Hanks went completely against character by
playing a homosexual living with AIDS in Philadelphia (1993).
His portrayal was a revelation, and showed audiences an entirely
new facet of his considerable talent. He won the Academy Award
for the role, and it was the turning point in his career. The
next year Hanks achieved one of Hollywood's rarest doubles by
earning back-to-back Oscars, only the second actor ever to do
so. This time, the film was Forrest Gump, a picture which was
notable not only for Hanks' memorable one-liners but for its
clever special effects as well. Hanks was now officially A-list.
His run of successes continued with films like Apollo 13 (1995),
Toy Story (1995), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), as well as a
couple of very popular films with co-star Meg Ryan, Sleepless in
Seattle (1993) and You've Got Mail (1998). All of these were
both critical and commercial hits; another measure of Hanks'
abilities. His most recent projects were The Green Mile (1999),
Toy Story 2 (1999), and Cast Away (2000), for which he received
his fifth Academy Award nomination. In addition, Hanks has found
success wearing other hats, having executive-produced a pair of
remarkable television miniseries: "From the Earth to the Moon"
(1998) and "Band of Brothers" (2001). He is married to actress
Rita Wilson. |
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