Tom Hanks: A Short Bio

Born on July 9, 1956 in Concord, California Thomas Jeffrey Hanks ala Tom Hanks is one of the gifted Hollywood stars with immense acting talent and perfection. Tom Hanks did not have the happiest of childhoods, as his parents got divorced when he was only 5 years old. Tom was third of four children born to Amos and Janet Hanks. His parents were avant-gardes in the development of marriage dissolution law in California. He moved around with his father changing schools and changing stepmothers and he was just confused.

After finally settling down in Oakland, CA Tom began taking part in high school plays. He continued to act in plays while attending California State University. Then he left the university to pursue his acting career further.

Hanks went to the city of opportunities, New York. This is when he got married to actress/producer Samantha Lewes on January 24, 1978. The marriage lasted nearly 9 years and they got divorced on March 19, 1987. Tom Hank’s first break as an actor came in a low budget movie called “He Knows You’re Alone” in 1980 where he was reportedly paid just $800 for the movie. After few months he moved to Los Angeles and co-starred in the TV Sitcom “Bosom Buddies” where he portrayed a man forced to dress as a woman in order to stay at a women’s only hotel. The show didn’t touch cord with the viewers and was shelved after only two seasons. He also worked in TV Series like “Taxi” and “Family Ties”. His acting career remained silent until 1984 when he got a big break in a Disney Film’s comedy called “Splash” which was about a mermaid in 1984. The movie proved to be a box office hit and the audience liked the charm and comic timing of the actor. Tom Hank was reportedly paid $70,000 for this movie.

Hanks didn’t carry the success that he got after “Splash” for too long. He appeared in many comedies which went unnoticed until he starred in “Big” in 1988 where he gave a powerful performance portraying the role of a child in a grown up man’s body for which he also won a Oscar nomination. He became darling to the audience’s hearts and that is the reason why they ignored the flop movie “Bonfire of the Vanities” in 1990 and looked forward to his upcoming movies rather. He once again made a comeback with the movie “Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own” in 1992. The success of this movie fetched him a role in another comedy called “Sleepless in Seattle” in 1993, which was a huge hit at the box office. He also portrayed the role of a homosexual in 1993 movie “Philadelphia” for which he won an Oscar for best actor. He won an Oscar for best actor again the next year for the movie “Forrest Gump” in 1994 achieving a rare double only the second time in the history of academy awards.

The actor had a wonderful run with movies like “Apollo 13″ in 1995, “Toy Story” in 1995 and “Saving Private Ryan” in 1998. His recent movies include “Toy Story 2″ in 1999, “Cast Away” in 2000 for which he again won an Oscar nomination and controversial “The Da Vinci Code” in 2006. Tom Hanks is a family man married to actress Rita Wilson who he met on the sets of the movie “Volunteers” in 1985. Tom Hanks continues his professional life hosting “Saturday Night Live”. Entertainment Weekly has reportedly chosen him as the only actor right now who is worth more than $20 million. Surely with his talent and selective approach to movies there is no match to this actor at the moment.