Tom Hanks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tom Hanks
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Hanks at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival
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Thomas Jeffrey Hanks
July 9, 1956 Concord, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Chabot College |
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| Years active | 1977–present |
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Works
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List of performances |
| Political party | Democratic |
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| Children | 4, including Colin and Chet |
| Relatives |
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| Awards | Full list |
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a famous American actor and filmmaker. He is one of the most popular movie stars around the world. His movies have earned over $4.9 billion in North America. Worldwide, his films have made more than $9.96 billion!
Hanks has played many different types of characters. He has been in funny movies (comedies), serious movies (dramas), and even movies for children. He has also appeared in TV shows and narrated documentaries. Tom Hanks has won many awards for his work in both television and movies.
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Early Life and Family
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California, on July 9, 1956. His mother, Janet Marylyn, worked at a hospital. His father, Amos "Bud" Hanks, was a traveling cook. His mother was from Portugal, and his father had English family roots. His parents divorced in 1960. When Tom was a child, his family moved a lot. By the time he was 10, he had lived in 10 different houses!
Hanks enjoyed acting in school plays. He performed in South Pacific while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California. Later, he studied theater at Chabot College in Hayward, California. After two years, he moved to California State University, Sacramento.
During his time studying theater, Hanks worked as an intern. He helped out at the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. This internship turned into a three-year experience. He learned about almost every part of making a play. This included lighting, set design, and managing the stage.
Tom Hanks' Career
1980s: Starting Out
In 1979, Hanks moved to New York City. There, he started getting roles in movies and TV shows. Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles. He appeared in more television shows and films. Some of his well-known roles in the 1980s were in the movies Splash (1984), The Money Pit (1986), Big (1988), and Turner & Hooch (1989).
1990s: Becoming a Star
By the 1990s, Tom Hanks had become a very popular actor. He starred in many successful movies. These included A League of Their Own (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and Forrest Gump (1994). He also appeared in Apollo 13 (1995) and voiced characters in Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999). Other films were The Green Mile (1999).
Hanks directed his first movie, That Thing You Do!, in 1996. He and producer Gary Goetzman then started a company called Playtone. It is a record and film production company. Its name comes from the record company in the movie. Next, Hanks helped produce, write, and direct From the Earth to the Moon. This was a 12-part TV mini-series.
In 1998, Hanks worked with director Steven Spielberg. They made a film about soldiers looking for a specific soldier in war-torn France after D-Day. The movie, Saving Private Ryan, is known as one of the best war films ever made.
2000s: Continued Success
In 2000, Hanks starred in Robert Zemeckis's Cast Away. For most of this movie, he was the only actor on screen.
In 2001, he helped direct and produce Band of Brothers. This mini-series told the story of Easy Company during World War II. He also worked with Steven Spielberg again. He starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in the true-story crime drama Catch Me If You Can. In the same year, Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson produced the popular movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Hanks starred in other movies in the 2000s. These included The Terminal (2004), The Polar Express (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2006), and Charlie Wilson's War (2007).
Hanks also kept producing movies. He was an executive producer for The Ant Bully (2006), Mamma Mia (2007), and the mini-series John Adams (2007).
2010s: More Great Roles
Tom Hanks continued his acting career in the 2010s. He starred in movies like Toy Story 3 (2010), Captain Phillips (2013), and Saving Mr. Banks (2013). Other films included Sully (2016), Toy Story 4 (2019), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). He also helped produce The Pacific. This was another mini-series about World War II.
2020s: Recent Films
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down Hanks's work for a short time. His most famous movies from the 2020s are Greyhound and Elvis.
Upcoming Projects
In 2013, HBO announced a new World War II mini-series. It is based on the book Masters of the Air. Hanks and Spielberg are working on it, following Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Hanks is also set to appear in In the Garden of Beasts. In 2022, it was shared that Hanks will star in the movie Here.
Awards and Honors
Throughout his career, Tom Hanks has been nominated for many awards. He has received six Academy Award nominations and won two of them. He was also nominated for a Tony Award. He received 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won seven.
Special Honors
- 2002: AFI Life Achievement Award (a big award for his film career)
- 2006: Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award
- 2014: Kennedy Center Honors Medallion
- 2016: Presidential Medal of Freedom (a high honor from the U.S. President)
- 2016: French Legion of Honor, as a Knight. This was for his movies about World War II and his support for veterans.
- 2019: Made an honorary citizen of Greece.
- 2020: Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award (a special award for his contributions to entertainment)
Personal Life
Hanks married American actress Samantha Lewes (1952–2002) in 1978. They had a son named Colin (born 1977), who is also an actor. They also had a daughter, Elizabeth (born 1982). Hanks and Lewes divorced in 1987. Samantha Lewes passed away in 2002 from bone cancer.
In 1988, Hanks married actress Rita Wilson. They have two sons, Chet and Truman. Tom Hanks lives with his family in Los Angeles, California, and Ketchum, Idaho.
He is a big fan of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. He also supports the English soccer club Aston Villa.
On December 27, 2019, the President of Greece made Tom Hanks and his family honorary Greek citizens.
Supporting Good Causes
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Tom Hanks has given money to many Democratic politicians. He supported Democratic presidential candidates like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden.
Hanks supports protecting the environment. He has invested in electric vehicles. He owns an electric car and was one of the first to own a special electric vehicle called the AC Propulsion eBox.
Hanks is the campaign chair for the Hidden Heroes Campaign. This campaign helps support military and veteran caregivers. These are people who take care of soldiers and veterans.
Hanks has also given espresso machines to the reporters who work at the White House.
Other Activities
Tom Hanks supports NASA's space program, which sends people into space. He is a member of the National Space Society. He also produced the mini-series From the Earth to the Moon. This show was about the Apollo program that sent astronauts to the Moon. He also helped write and produce Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D. Hanks provided the voice for the show Passport to the Universe at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York.
In June 2006, Hanks became an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame. This was because of his acting in Saving Private Ryan. He was the first actor to receive this honor. Hanks was a spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign. He also helped write and produce the Emmy Award-winning mini-series, Band of Brothers.
Hanks collects old manual typewriters. He uses them almost every day. In 2014, Hanks released a free app called Hanx Writer for iOS devices. It makes your phone or tablet feel like you're using a typewriter. The app quickly became very popular.
Legacy
Tom Hanks is often compared to the famous actor James Stewart. He is also often called "America's Dad."
There is even an asteroid named after him! It is called 12818 Tomhanks.
In 2003, Tom Hanks was voted Number 3 in a list of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time by Channel 4. He was also on Forbes magazine's list of the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world in 2000, 2002, and 2003.
Tom Hanks Quotes
- "I was a geek, a spaz. I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy. At the same time, I was the guy who'd yell out funny captions during filmstrips. But I didn't get into trouble. I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible."
- "The cinema has the power to make you not feel lonely, even when you are."
- "If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great."
- "Eating everything you want is not that much fun. When you live a life with no boundaries, there's less joy."
Interesting Facts About Tom Hanks
- Hanks is a distant cousin of President Abraham Lincoln. He is also related to children's TV host Fred Rogers.
- When he was a child, he wanted to be an astronaut.
- He built plastic models of rockets as a child. He watched live TV broadcasts of space missions in the 1960s.
- As a teenager, Tom Hanks sold peanuts and soft drinks at baseball games.
- During college, Hanks worked as a bellhop at Hilton hotels.
- He had a guest role on the TV show Happy Days with Ron Howard.
- When Ron Howard started directing movies, he remembered Hanks. Hanks starred in some of the movies Howard produced.
- Tom Hanks received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992.
- Tom's brother, Jim Hanks, helped out in one scene in the movie Forrest Gump. He ran for Forrest in that part.
- Hanks was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2013.
- Tom Hanks supports "Meatless Monday." This means not eating meat on Mondays.
- Tom Hanks has starred in many movies based on true stories.
- He is a licensed pilot and owns his own private aircraft.
Images for kids
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Tom Hanks at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival
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Tom Hanks at the Academy Awards after-party in March 1989
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Tom Hanks on the film set of Forrest Gump (1994)
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Tom Hanks' cement prints in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood
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Tom Hanks at a Post-Emmys Party, September 2008
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Tom Hanks with World War II veterans in 2010
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President Obama giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tom Hanks in 2016
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Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson at the 1989 Oscars
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Tom Hanks with Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. President Barack Obama in London
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Tom Hanks with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the Kennedy Center Honors
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Tom Hanks with Steven Spielberg (left) at the National World War II Memorial in March 2010
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Tom Hanks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, on February 5, 2004.
See Also
In Spanish: Tom Hanks para niños
