TOM HANKS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
 
Tom Hanks was born on July 9, 1956 in Concord, California with the birth name Thomas Jeffrey Hanks to parents Amos Mefford Hanks and Janet Marylyn Frager.  While growing up his family moved around a lot and he actually lived with a number of foster families after his parents divorced in 1960.  During high school he acted in a number of school plays at Skyline High in Oakland, California.  He went on to study at Chabot College in Hayward, California and then transferred to California State University in Sacramento. 
 
After college he decided to audition for a community theater play and the director of that play invited him to come to Cleveland to work on another production and at this point in his life he began his pursuit of a career as an actor.  He dropped out of college and spent the next three years on an internship learning all about working in the stage industry in lighting, stage design and stage management as well.
 
It did not take long before he was not only working as a stage actor but was also making his film debut in 1980 in New York City in the film “He Knows You're Alone”.  Soon he was also appearing in television series such as “Mazes and Monsters" and “Bosom Buddies” (1980).  He then made a guest appearance on the television series “Happy Days” which got the director's attention and him his next starring role in the film “Splash” (1984) followed by another successful film role in 1984 in “Bachelor Party”.  
 
He gained major media attention when he starred in the film “Big” (1988).  However, his film role choices were not always the smartest and throughout his career he has had a number of box office disappointments in such films as “The Burbs” (1999), “Joe Versus the Volcano” (1990) and “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (1990).
 
With more dramatic roles added to his resume such as in “A League of Their Own” (1992), “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) and with winning an Academy Award in 1993 for Best Actor for his role in the film “Philadelphia”, he was showing Hollywood that his talents were improving and he was going to remain in the industry for a long time.  Other successful film roles followed in “Forrest Gump”, “Apollo 13”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “You’ve Got Mail”, and "Cast Away”, and he also did voice-over work for the animated film “Toy Story”.
 
His career was not slowing down and in 2003 alone he appeared in three films -- “The Ladykillers”, “The Terminal” and “The Polar Express”.  2005 was also a big year when Tom Hanks was voted as Vice President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

His next film grossed over $750 million worldwide when he starred in “The Da Vinci Code” (2006).  Again more successful films followed such as “The Great Buck Howard” (2008) and “Angles & Demons” (2009).
 
Along with working as an actor, Hanks has also pursued working on the other side of the industry as a director and writer for the film “That Thing You Do!” (1996) which he also starred in, and he produced “Starter For 10” (2006).  He is also the producer for the film “Where the Wild Things Are” and in 2011 he directed the comedy “Larry Crowne”. 
 
Tom Hanks is currently married to his second wife, Rita Wilson, whom he wed in 1988 and has two children with.  He was married once before to Samantha Lewes in 1978 and they also had two children together, Colin and Elizabeth Ann, before the marriage ended in divorce in 1987.
 
Hanks remains working in the industry but also has a number of other interests.  He is a supporter of NASA’s space program and a member of the National Space Society.  In 2006 he was also inducted as an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame for his great portrayal of a Captain in the film “Saving Private Ryan”.

Filmography   
 
2012 Cloud Atlas
2011 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
2011 Larry Crowne
2011 Hawaiian Vacation 
2010 Toy Story 3 
2010 The Pacific
2009 Late Show with David Letterman
2009 Beyond All Boundaries
2009 Angels & Demons 
2008 The Great Buck Howard 
2007 Charlie Wilson's War 
2006 The Da Vinci Code
2006 Cars 
2005 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D 
2004 The Polar Express
2004 Elvis Has Left the Building
2004 The Terminal
2004 The Ladykillers
2004 Great Performances
2003 Freedom: A History of Us
2002 Catch Me If You Can 
2002 Road to Perdition
2001 Band of Brothers
2000 Cast Away
1999 The Green Mile
1999 Toy Story 2
1998 You've Got Mail 
1998 Saving Private Ryan 
1998 From the Earth to the Moon 
1996 That Thing You Do!
1996 Toy Story Activity Center
1995 Toy Story 
1995 Apollo 13 
1994 Forrest Gump
1994 Vault of Horror I
1993 Philadelphia 
1993 Fallen Angels
1993 Sleepless in Seattle 
1992 A League of Their Own 
1992 Tales from the Crypt
1992 Radio Flyer 
1990 The Bonfire of the Vanities 
1990 Joe Versus the Volcano 
1989 Turner & Hooch 
1989 The 'Burbs'
1988 Punchline
1988 Big 
1987 Dragnet 
1986 Every Time We Say Goodbye
1986 Nothing in Common 
1986 The Money Pit 
1985 Volunteers 
1985 The Man with One Red Shoe 
1984 Bachelor Party 
1984 Splash 
1983-1984 Family Ties
1982 Mazes and Monsters 
1982 Happy Days
1982 Taxi
1980 He Knows You're Alone
1980-1982 Bosom Buddies
1980 The Love Boat