After 43 years of career in cinema, Tom Hanks is today at the top of his art. Having started his career very young, the man who shares the bill with Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can is today at the head of an immense filmography, not only as an actor but also as a director. In this article, we are going to list the actors’ 10 best films, while giving you ideas for the holidays!
10. Philadelphia (1993)
Philadephia is not only a film to entertain but also to point out the evils linked to gender. By taking on the role of a young lawyer, suffering from HIV and who is also homosexual, Hanks became a voice for minorities who suffer from discrimination and social injustice. The film is part of Hanks’ golden age while still emphasizing empathy and respect. Ingredients that allowed the actor to consolidate his notoriety!
9. Captain Phillips (2013)
Once again, Hanks plays a role based on a true story! If you want to see the actor in an action film, this one will definitely satisfy your fantasy. He will play a merchant ship captain who will be targeted by Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa. Although this air of kindness is stuck to his skin, you will discover a different side of Hanks, still kind of course, but with more authority.
8. Big (1988)
Be careful what you wish for…that’s Big’s message to us. In this comedy, Tom Hanks shows us how Josh Baskin, a young boy of 13, after wishing to be big, becomes a man of 30 and all the problems that go with it. After getting a taste of adult life, Josh dreams of only one thing: becoming the teenager he was before. We must believe that this role was made for Hanks, an adult who has always preserved his childish soul!
7. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Saving Private Ryan is another work where Spielberg’s talent meets Hanks’. The film returns to the Second World War but from another angle. The film addresses the human side with rather civic values. Playing the role of Captain Miller brilliantly, Hanks puts the acting at the center, while erasing the enormous impact of the war on the film.
6. The Green Mile (1999)
Playing the head warden of Cold Mountain Penitentiary, Hanks shows us another side of American prisons: the death penalty. And since the film is an adaptation of a six-episode serial novel, what’s more, a work by Stephen King, the bet is quite daring. Either way, you will discover fantasy behind each scene, painful stories, and astonishing acting. A Tom Hanks who shows, once again, his humanitarian side.
5. A League of Their Own (1992)
When Tom Hanks meets Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, and Madonna it results in “An extraordinary team”! Filled with sweetness, the film tells how the professional American women’s baseball league was created. Slipping into the role of a disgraced former baseball player, and who, to redeem himself must train these women, we can see an unsympathetic Hanks. But if you watch the film closely, you will discover that deep down, he acts as a protector.
4. The Amazing Mr. Rogers (2019)
In this film, we must believe that Tom Hanks plays one of the most complex and difficult-to-copy roles of his career. Indeed, he plays the children’s show presenter, Fred Rogers in the 90s. For filming, he had to embrace his character by adopting the smallest details, whether in his way of speaking, dressing or even behaving. A role worth its weight in gold!
3. Cloud Atlas
Wondering what happens after death? Cloud Atlas approaches this topic in a much more scientific way. Everything takes place in several space-times, more precisely over 5 centuries. People are born, die, and are reborn…all while crossing paths and finding each other. A film that will delve into a universe that is both complex and exciting.
2. The Toy Story Saga (1995, 1999, 2010, 2019)
Who doesn’t fall in love with Woody, the cowboy from Pixar’s Toy Story saga? Lending his voice to this Disney character, Tom Hanks will take you through the world of toys, where the fight to receive affection is at the center of everything. Exciting and heartbreaking stories will be there, and they certainly remain Hanks’ best interpretations. And for fans, a new Toy Story 5 will soon be released with the duo Tom Hanks and Tim Allen!
1. Apollo 13 (1995)
Based on a true story, notably that of the modest commander of the Apollo 13 spacecraft, Jim Lovell, this film highlights the performance, discretion, and absolute calm of Tom Hanks, just like his character. Indeed, the film tells how Apollo 13 exploded while flying to the moon and how Jim Lovell managed to save his crew from certain death, all broadcast live on television.
Also Read: The 10 Best Movies Of All Time