July 9 (UPI) — Oscar-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor Tom Hanks is celebrating his 70th birthday.
The actor, writer, director and producer has entertained audiences for nearly 50 years with his versatile roles, from World War II army captain John Miller in Saving Private Ryan to the voice of pull-string cowboy doll Woody in the Toy Story film series.
Hanks, whose other credits include Big, Sleepless in Seattle, Apollo 13 and The DaVinci Code, has earned two Oscars, seven Emmys, four Golden Globes and numerous other awards thus far. Here’s a look back at 7 of his award-winning performances.
‘Big’
The 1988 comedy film marked Hanks’ first collaboration with actress and director Penny Marshall, who would later also direct him in the sports comedy-drama A League of Their Own.
Tom Hanks (L) and Rita Wilson attend the An Unforgettable Evening benefit for the Women’s Cancer Research Fund in 2024. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Big casts Hanks as Josh Baskin, a 13-year-old boy whose wish to be “big” makes him grow into an adult body overnight. The role earned Hanks a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Jared Rushton, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia and John Heard also star.
A Wilson volleyball from the film “Cast Away” starring Tom Hanks appears on display as part of The Jim Irsay Collection at Christie’s in March. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Big is available to stream on Prime Video, Disney+ and Peacock.
‘Philadelphia’
Hanks took a dramatic turn in the 1993 legal drama directed by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Beloved).
The film follows Andrew Beckett (Hanks), a closeted gay man with AIDS who hires a fellow attorney (Denzel Washington) to help him sue his former law firm for wrongful termination.
Also starring Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas and Joanne Woodward, Philadelphia was a landmark film at the time for its portrayal of the AIDS crisis and LGBTQ+ community.
Philadelphia earned Hanks his first Oscar for Best Actor and a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. The movie is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
‘Forrest Gump’
Perhaps Hanks’ best-known film, the 1994 comedy-drama is directed by Robert Zemeckis, who would later collaborate with Hanks on Cast Away, The Polar Express, Pinocchio and Here.
Based on the Winston Groom novel, Forrest Gump casts Hanks as the title character, a kind but unremarkable Alabama man who is swept up in historical events of the 1960s and ’70s, including the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.
Other cast members include Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field.
Hanks won his second, back-to-back Oscar for Best Actor for Forrest Gump, along with a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.
Forrest Gump is available to stream on Prime Video, Paramount+ and Peacock.
‘Apollo 13’
The 1995 drama is based on the Jim Lovell book Lost Moon and directed by Ron Howard (Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind), who also worked with Hanks on Splash, The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons and Inferno.
Hanks, Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon star as Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, respectively, the real-life astronauts involved in NASA’s failed Apollo 13 mission to the moon.
Other cast members include Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan.
Apollo 13 earned Hanks and his co-stars a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The film is available to stream on Netflix.
‘Saving Private Ryan’
The 1998 war drama from Steven Spielberg stars Hanks as John Miller, a World War II army captain tasked with finding Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) after Ryan’s three brothers are killed in the Normandy invasion.
Also starring Edward Burns and Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan is considered by many to be one of the greatest war films ever made.
Hanks was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe, and won an Empire Award for Best Actor, for his performance as Miller.
He previously won two Emmy awards for his work as a writer, producer and director on the WWII series Band of Brothers, and would later win another Emmy for his work on the follow-up series The Pacific.
Saving Private Ryan is available to stream on Prime Video, Paramount+ and AMC+.
‘Cast Away’
The 2000 survival drama reunited Hanks with Zemeckis and earned Hanks a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his role as Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems analyst who is stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash.
Other cast members include Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy and Chris Noth.
The film also famously features Wilson the volleyball, Chuck’s only “companion” during his four-year ordeal.
Cast Away is available to stream on Hulu.
‘Road to Perdition’
Hanks made a foray into comic book adaptations in the 2002 crime drama directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and based on the DC Comics graphic novel series by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner.
Road to Perdition takes place during the Great Depression and follows Michael Sullivan (Hanks), a mob enforcer who, alongside his son Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), seeks revenge against the man who killed the rest of their family.
Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci and Daniel Craig also star.
Road to Perdition earned Hanks a Hollywood Film Awards honor and is available to rent on streaming platforms.
