How Old Is Tom Hanks and What Was His First Major Movie Role?
These days, many know Tom Hanks as one of the most legendary actors in Hollywood. He has been in so many famous films throughout the decades that both his name and face are familiar to a huge number of people. However, just because Hanks is popular now doesn’t mean that everyone is aware of what his career was like back in the days before fame hit. Let’s take a look at Hanks’ life and see when his first major movie role was.
Tom Hanks’ age and early life
Hanks was born in Concord, California, on July 5, 1956. He turns 63 in 2019.
His parents divorced when he was around 4 years old and Hanks lived with his father. He ended up moving a lot when he was a kid. “It made me flexible,” he told Rolling Stone once. “It gave me confidence to think I can be in any sort of social situation and know how to gracefully get out of it.”
Hanks was very involved in school plays growing up and he eventually studied theater in college, though he dropped out soon afterward. He continued doing theater, participating in many plays from 1977 to 1979 in Cleveland, Ohio. This was where he really got recognized as an actor and was able to kick-start his career. In fact, Hanks even returned to the same theater in 2009 to help fundraise for the place that he owed his success to.
His first film came out in 1980
Hanks ventured into the movie business when he moved to New York City in 1979. He was cast in the horror movie He Knows You’re Alone, which premiered in 1980.
He continued to build his reputation as an actor when, that same year, he starred on the ABC show Bosom Buddies as one of the lead characters. Although Bosom Buddies was not a big hit, the starring role allowed Hanks to further his career.
In the next few years, he starred in movies such as Splash (1984), Bachelor Party (1984), and Nothing in Common (1986).
‘Big’ was Tom Hanks’ breakout movie
1988 saw the premiere of Hanks’ iconic film, Big, about a young boy who transforms into an adult man overnight. The film grossed over $100 million at the box office (against a budget of $18 million) and made Hanks a star.
From then on, he would go on to play the leading role in numerous popular movies that are still watched and talked about even today: A League of Their Own (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), Toy Story (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Cast Away (2000), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Polar Express (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2006), and many, many more.
In recent years, his more recognizable works include films such as Bridge of Spies (2015), Sully (2016), and Inferno (2016). Additionally, he has participated in a few Toy Story movies as the beloved Woody.
What’s next for Tom Hanks?
Even though he is almost 63 years old and nearing the age where many average folks might retire, Hanks is not showing signs of slowing down any time soon.
Currently, he has three upcoming films in production with two of them having release dates planned for 2019. Toy Story 4, which will see the iconic toy gang embarking on a road trip, will be released in June 2019. Another movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, will see Hanks play everybody’s favorite Mr. Rogers and is set for release in November 2019.
And in 2020, Hanks will star in the World War II film Greyhound.
