#tomhanks #biography
Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California. Hanks' parents divorced when he was 5 years old, and he was raised, along with his older brother and sister, by his father, a chef named Amos. The family moved frequently, finally settling in Oakland, California, where Hanks attended high school.

He won the Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in 1978, for his portrayal of "Proteus" in "The Two Gentlemen of Verona".
By 1980, Hanks had dropped out of college, and after his third season with the Great Lakes festival, he moved to New York City. Many rounds of auditions later, he landed a small part in the 1980 slasher film He Knows You're Alone. That same year he was spotted by a talent scout for ABC and was cast in the television sitcom "Bosom Buddies", playing one of two advertising executives who dress in drag in order to rent an apartment in an all-female building.
The show was cancelled after two seasons, but it gave Hanks some exposure and led to his casting in guest roles on various episodes of popular shows like "Happy Days", "Taxi", "The Love Boat" and "Family Ties".

The following year, Hanks made his directorial and screenwriting debut with "That Thing You Do!", which enjoyed moderate success. He continued his behind-the-camera duties in the Emmy-winning HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon", which he produced, directed, wrote and acted in for various episodes.
In 1998, he starred in another groundbreaking blockbuster, "Saving Private Ryan", a World War 2 drama directed by Steven Spielberg and filmed with gruesome accuracy. While the film was nominated for director and actor Academy Awards and was a favorite for best picture, only Spielberg took home the Oscar. Also that year, Hanks teamed once more with Ryan and Ephron in the hit romantic comedy "You've Got Mail".

Hanks soared to the top of the holiday box office in late 1999 as he reprised his role as the voice of "Woody", the cowboy at the center of 1995's animated film" Toy Story". "Toy Story 2", also featuring the voice of Tim Allen, surpassed all expectations at the box office, grossing a record-breaking $80.8 million when it opened over Thanksgiving weekend. He also starred in "The Green Mile" during this time, which shot to Number 2 at the box office, behind "Toy Story 2", in its opening weekend. The film was set in a Depression-era prison and adapted from a story by Stephen King.
Hanks underwent a striking physical transformation to play a man stranded on a desert island in his next film, the long-awaited "Cast Away", directed by Zemeckis and co-starring Helen Hunt. His performance propelled the film to the top of the holiday box office, earning Hanks critical raves and yet another well-deserved Oscar nomination for best actor.


Hanks was next seen in the highly anticipated "The Da Vinci Code", based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown and co-starring Audrey Tatou. The film grossed more than $750 million worldwide. During the 2007 Christmas season, Hanks appeared as the lead in Charlie Wilson's "War", a drama based on a Texas congressman's efforts to assist Afghan rebels in their war with the Soviets. The performance earned Hanks a Golden Globe nomination.
In 2009, Hanks starred in "Angels and Demons", the sequel to Da Vinci. He went on to perform voiceover work for the acclaimed TV miniseries "The Pacific" and "Toy Story 3", before starring in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" and "Cloud Atlas".

After Hanks was seen strutting his stuff in popster Carly Rae Jepsen's music video "I Really Like You," critics greatly took to his portrayal of a U.S. attorney in the Cold War thriller "Bridge of Spies". The autumn 2015 outing saw the actor reunited with director Spielberg. In November 2016, Hanks received the "Presidential Medal of Freedom" from President Barack Obama for his contribution to the arts.
In 2017, Hanks teamed up with Meryl Streep for Spielberg's "The Post", about the drama surrounding the Washington Post's publication of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. Once again, the veteran actor's performance was lauded by critics and led to another Golden Globe nomination.

In January 2018, it was announced that Hanks had signed on to play Mister Rogers in an upcoming biopic, eventually titled "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood". The project was based on a 1998 Esquire profile by Tom Junod, which recounted the writer's experience of meeting and befriending the beloved children's TV star. Hanks slipped seamlessly into the role of the kindly Rogers, picking up his sixth Oscar nomination following the film's November 2019 theatrical release.
Hanks met his first wife, actress and producer Samantha Lewes, while he was in college. They were married in 1978 and had two children, Colin and Elizabeth, before divorcing in 1987..