Tom Hanks Movies Spotlight

Tom Hanks turns 60 today! To celebrate the life of the iconic actor and filmmaker, we have a list of some of our favorite Tom Hanks movies. This was a hard one to narrow down. He’s won numerous awards, including Oscars for Best Actor in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Medallion in 2014. He’s produced the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific as well as directing Larry Crowne and That Thing You Do. Heck, he even has an asteroid named after him. (It’s 12818 Tomhanks in case you were wondering.) We’re leaving out things like the movies The Da Vinci Code and Saving Private Ryan and shows like Bosom Buddies, only because we have to. Tom Hanks in a dress, guys. We’ll see him next in Inferno, Sully and hear his voice in Toy Story 4 in 2018. Check out our list of Tom Hanks movies below and let us know your favorites in the comments. Happy birthday, Tom!

Tom Hanks Movies: Splash (1984)

Hanks plays Allen, a man who was saved by a mermaid as a young boy. After an accident, he’s saved by that mermaid again (Madison, played by Daryl Hannah) and falls in love with her, not realizing what she is. The film, directed by Ron Howard, also starred Eugene Levy as the crazy scientist who tries to prove mermaids exist by targeting Madison and John Candy as Allen’s girl-crazy older brother. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Tom Hanks Movies: Big (1988)

In this one, Hanks plays Josh, a 12-year-old boy who wishes to be “big.” His wish is granted, though while he’s in an adult body, he’s got the mind of a kid. He gets a job at a toy company and reminds everyone that thinking like an innocent child is worth revisiting here and there. This film gave us the famous scene with Hanks playing around with a giant piano keyboard, playing “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks” with the late Robert Loggia.

Tom Hanks Movies: Turner & Hooch (1989)

This much-maligned film starred Hanks as super fussy police officer Scott Turner who investigates the murder of his friend Amos (John McIntire), owner of slobbery dog Hooch (played by Beasley the Dog). The two solve the crime together, drool and all.

Tom Hanks Movies: A League of Their Own (1992)

This film starred Geena Davis, Madonna, and Lori Petty and tells the story of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Hanks plays Jimmy Doogan, the manager of the team of women during WWII and gave us the classic line, “There’s no crying in baseball.” The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Tom Hanks Movies: Forrest Gump (1994)

Hanks plays the title role in this film about a simple-minded man with a big heart. It also stars Robin Wright, Gary Sinise and Sally Field, who plays Forrest’s mother (She played his love interest in 1998’s Punchline.) We watch him through a number of decades as he witnesses big events through history and becomes a part of them. The film won a slew of awards, including Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, and Best Actor for Hanks. It also gave rise to the line, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” This one was also selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry.

Tom Hanks Movies: Toy Story (1995)

Hanks voices the cowboy toy Woody in the first animated full-length Pixar feature. When rival toy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) enters the toy room, the gang battles for the love of their kid Andy. Joss Whedon was one of the writers for the film and Hanks and Allen went on to reprise their roles in Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010) and the upcoming sequel Toy Story 4.

Tom Hanks Movies: Apollo 13 (1995)

In this history-based film based on the book “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13” by astronaut Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, Hank plays Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell who headed up the aborted lunar mission. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and also starred Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan.

Tom Hanks Movies: You’ve Got Mail (1998)

In this romantic comedy, Hanks plays Joe Fox, the man running the large book company that takes over the local bookstore run by Meg Ryan’s Kathleen. Despite their terrible meet cute, they end up happy together. The film centered around the late ’90s anonymous chat features online. Hanks previously starred with Ryan in other romantic comedies like Joe vs. the Volcano in 1990 and Sleepless in Seattle in 1993.

Tom Hanks Movies: The Green Mile (1999)

This crime drama was nominated for four Oscars and starred Hanks as death row prison officer Paul Edgecomb who encounters inmate John Coffey, played by Michael Clarke Duncan. Coffey is mentally challenged but has supernatural abilities. He is accused of raping and murdering two little girls, but he uses his powers to destroy the guard who really committed the crime. Edgecomb is kind to him and Coffey transfers his powers into him, giving him an unnaturally long life.

Tom Hanks Movies: Cast Away (2000)

Hanks was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for this film about a FedEx agent who survives a plane crash and ends up stranded on an island with nothing but some packages that washed up on the beach. He keeps himself sane by talking to a Wilson volleyball and ultimately saves himself by making a raft.

Tom Hanks Movies: Captain Phillips (2013)

In this film based on the true story of the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking, Hanks plays Captain Richard Philips whose ship was hijacked by pirates. Barkhad Abdi plays Abduwali Muse, the leader of the pirates. The film grossed over $218 million and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Abdi.

Which Tom Hanks film is your favorite? Which one did we leave off that you love? Let us know in the comments and tell us why!

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)