Hanks really hit his stride with leading roles in a string of laugh-out-loud comedies back in the day. We’re talking about flicks like “Splash” in 1984, “The Money Pit” in 1986, “Big” in 1988, and “A League of Their Own” in 1992. But he didn’t stop there. He went on to snag two Academy Awards for Best Actor in a row. First, he blew everyone away as a gay lawyer battling AIDS in “Philadelphia” in 1993. Then, he had audiences falling in love with Forrest Gump in 1994.
He’s had a long and fruitful partnership with none other than Steven Spielberg. Together, they cooked up five amazing films: “Saving Private Ryan” in 1998, “Catch Me If You Can” in 2002, “The Terminal” in 2004, “Bridge of Spies” in 2015, and “The Post” in 2017. And let’s not forget the epic World War II miniseries they worked on like “Band of Brothers” in 2001, “The Pacific” in 2010, and the upcoming “Masters of the Air” in 2024. He’s also teamed up time and again with directors like Ron Howard, Nora Ephron, and Robert Zemeckis.