A Man Called Tom Hanks: ranking the best performances from everyone’s favorite movie star
From Splash and Big to Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan, we're counting down the 22 finest performances from one of Hollywood's most beloved actors
Film Features Tom Hanks
Few Hollywood stars are more beloved than Tom Hanks, whose screen legacy ranks alongside the all-time greats, encompassing feel-good classics like Big and A League Of Their Own as well as momentous dramas such as Saving Private Ryan and Philadelphia. Since his 1984 breakout in Splash, the two-time Oscar winner has dazzled, devastated, and delighted audiences with performances that are not just consistently relatable but showcase his remarkable range. In his newest film, Asteroid City, he blends in beautifully with director Wes Anderson’s large ensemble cast, but there’s nothing like a big screen comedy or drama with Hanks front and center. So here’s our ranking of Tom Hanks’ 22 biggest and best performances. Combing through these humane, transfixing, and iconic roles, it’s easy to see why so many consider Hanks to be their favorite movie star.
144 Comments
Where is The Man with One Red Shoe?!?
Looking for the other one?
I am the world’s only Man With One Red Shoe stan, and even I think the movie is mediocre. What absolutely saves it is not Hanks, but Dabney Coleman and Thomas Newman’s career-best score.
Has news really been this slow that this article exists?
Another day, another slideshow.
Who we’ve lost so far in 2023.
The A.V. Club.
It’s stealth promotion for A Man Called Otto.
Since no one asked, my opinion is that Big, Captain Phillips, and Catch Me If You Can should make up the top 3.
great performance being able to play a 10 yr old who hooks up with a 30 yr old.
Him striding out of the elevator the next morning is gold.Meanwhile it’s amazing Elizabeth Perkins didn’t begin vomiting violently when she saw him revert to his child self.
I really didn’t think the implications of all that through at the time. More recently I saw a show where people react to old shows and movies, and everybody was horrified by it.
LOL. Pussies.
Never saw the big deal (pun not intended). The body was a 30 year old, just had the mind of a 12-year old. That’s akin to saying no one should sleep with a mentally-impaired adult.
If I’d slept with a woman and then watched her physically transform to her actual 12 year-old self I’d probably need to be institutionalized.
You gotta dig down and draw from your own experiences.
But he was 12, and that was my problem with the performance. Hanks often acted like a 10 year old (things he said and did). You grow a lot in those 2 years. I was actually 13 when it came out and remember rolling my eyes at how stupid and naive he played Josh in some scenes.
Isn’t Jennifer Lawrence doing that?
Catch Me If You Can is such an underrated movie in general. It came out in my early teens and I was slightly obsessed with it, as I was with the book. I was a rebellious lad back then and really admired Abagnale’s creativity and unwillingness to follow societal rules. Shame the real dude lied about basically everything in the book (go figure, right?). Actually, I’ll take it a step further and say early 2000s Spielberg is underrated as a whole. The Terminal sucked ass, but CMIYC, Minority Report, and Munich are all fantastic. I will also say War of the Worlds was great up until they got to Tim Robbins’ house, at which point it completely fell apart.
22-11: Anything where he tries to do an accent. 10-1: Anything where he doesn’t try to do an accent.
Back in those ancient days when Bosom Buddies was on TV, who’d’ve thunk that guy would turn into such a national treasure?
He and Peter Scolari both repeatedly rose far above the level that show called for. Shame that Henry/Hildegard never achived the same level of fame that Kip/Buffy did.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was so GOOD.
No ‘Burbs? Worthless list
Came here to say this.
I would’ve liked to have seen Nothing in Common on the list. Even before Big, that was the film that made me realize how good he could be
This. Totally a screenplay and story from somebody who went through it. It feels like a Hanks vehicle – he’s essential – while the old man casting could be variable. Jackie Gleason was great. But it could have been Walter Matthau or (who else was kicking back then?) Kirk Douglas or Robert Mitchum. Yeah, Jack Lemmon – but Lemmon would have really tried to go toe-to-toe with Hanks and Act! (ACT with an exclamation point) – instead of being the supporting role of Dad on the decline. Gregory Peck would have been great, but he might have passed on by then. Paul Newman! I take back Paul Newman or James Garner. The Dad role has to be wasp-ish but not chiseled out of granite. Darren McGavin coulda done it.Plus: Hanks trying on his dad’s glasses. Hanks and Sela Ward. Hanks thwacking a pen into the ceiling and somewhat-randomly whispering, “Batman.”
Is News of the World not on here? I don’t know if it was one of Hanks’ best movies, but the interplay between him and Helena Zengel was great. Heartfelt, tense, and fun.
No Bachelor Party or The Burbs! How dare you! My almost 50 year old ass if offended! 😉
No love for a movie with a cocaine sniffing donkey. That alone should put it on the list.
He went out like a champ!
Great soundtrack too ,The Police ( with rehumanize yourself! No less!, Wang Chung, Oingo Boingo…and a really really young REM ( possibly because they were on IRS records as well)
Bachelor Party is such a prime 80s sex comedy. Prime Tawny Kitaen, as well.Despite all the great debauchery, my favorite scene is when they’re at lunch with her parents after they’ve gotten engaged and the dad starts in on a diatribe of all Hanks’ shortcomings and flaws, it cuts away to the women talking for a couple of minutes, then back to Hanks and his future father-in-law is still going full-tilt with his list.
I was 11 or 12 and my older brother rented this movie and my god it was one of my top 3 favorite comedy’s for years!
I have to think people who came to know Hanks later in his career would be absolutely scandalized by Bachelor Party. So damn good.
I would love to see their outrage at the movie and laugh at them. Yes America’s dad/uncle/grandpa was an awesome horn dog in a movie!
The only Prime in the 80’s was Optimus.
Damn straight Bachelor Party needs to be on this list, and not at the bottom, either. And where the hell is Dragnet?
Fuck me, I forgot about Dragnet!
And where the hell is Dragnet?
Man, if I had a son I would name him Pep Streebeck. Well not really but that’s one of my favorite movie character names.
It’s a crime Dragnet isn’t on the list
No Pep Streebeck?
Bachelor party is my #1. This list is trash.
I seriously would at worse have it #2 behind saving private ryan but I rather watch Bachelor Party over and over than Private Ryan!
Speaking of Private Ryan, the still from Won’t You Be My Neighbor right next to the one from SPR makes it look like Mr. Rogers is trying to catch an incoming artillery shell.
hahahaha! It so does!
“Get this lame-o offa your thread!”
or Money Pit!
How many writers does it take to flub an article?
So we’re to the point where Silence of the Lambs is problematic now?
The transphobic nature of the film has always been up for debate. You can run a search on it and come up with hundreds of articles over the years about it.Generally, the only argument against the film being transphobic is “but Lector said Buffalo Bill’s not actually transsexual!”, which is like when someone says something racist and follows it with “it’s okay, I have a black friend”.
I just googled it and I stand corrected. Had no idea it was viewed in this light. I understand the point they are trying to make, but I slightly disagree. I know Buffalo Bill was a combination of a few real life serial killers (Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, etc) so I don’t think the intent was to be intentionally transphobic.
Intent doesn’t always matter, though. You can innocently make something very problematic. It’s still a great film, but has some less savory elements that are unfortunate. That doesn’t mean you can’t love it. I love lots of things that aren’t perfect, but I’m willing to acknowledge the flaws without getting angry, defensive, and dismissive.
Then what are you doing here?
They weren’t being angry, defensive, or dismissive. Someone can just disagree with you, no need to make things up in order for you to sound more level-headed.
I mean, Buffalo Bill’s a serial killer and with his mind so deluded, he’s gonna act like a crazy weirdo when he’s alone with himself. I never thought of it as something to do with his orientation or speaking out about a certain orientation. He’s a crazy goddamn psychopath. There’s no kind of hidden metaphor beyond that.
I think they tried to separate Bill’s issues from his sexuality, with Lecter’s observation that the guy is fucked up in a whole pile of ways and being potentially transsexual is the least of them (and certainly not the cause of his murderous tendencies).
Ironically that scene is the crux of the movie’s issues. If they just let the lunacy of the plot speak for itself, it would be easy enough to say “Bill is about as realistic as Freddy Krueger, and he has nothing to do with trans people in real life.” But by emphasizing the difference between Bill and a “real transsexual,” the movie suggests that a character who murders women and steals their skins has something in common with actual people. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it elevated subtext to text.
Agree fully. I’m willing to buy the argument the film is making but they could have left it at the obvious conclusion that Bill is just a massively fucked up individual.
That’s only “transphobic” if it’s your position that trans people can’t also be homicidal maniacs. And I imagine any trans person would tell you that murdering women to create a skin suit is not really a trans thing. It’s a psychopath thing. Buffalo Bill may be trans in some sense, but had a lot of other shit going on that was more central to the character.
It always was from the day it was released. We’ve just gotten to a point of actual mainstream discussion.
Yup. When everything is offensive, nothing is offensive
While I wouldn’t call Captain Phillips his best role, the medical bay scene at the end of the film is far and away Hanks’s best work.
It echoed back through the entire movie before it and made it so much richer. I had thought the movie was fine up until then, and suddenly his character breaking in the very, very, very realistic way that he did informed everything that happened before, almost like a really good “twist” ending does. Captain Philips and Gravity opened the same weekend where I lived, and my expectations and satisfaction with each were absolutely inverted.
I would give significant credit to the corpsman in that scene as well, who was in fact a real one, Danielle Albert, that was only around that day because the XO was concerned that since the cast was doing stunts on the ship that they needed to have someone to man sickbay just in case.The remarkable part was that for a complete amateur it only took four takes for a completely improvised scene that completely depended on her not being distracted as she did a standard intake interview. That was what caught my attention watching it for the first time given I’d seen the real ones in person a number of times and was amazed how accurately it was portrayed (at least until I looked up the story behind it and went, ‘no wonder.’) Hanks had to calm her down after she froze during the first take, but then she nailed it to the point where when the dailies went out to Sony, the execs didn’t ask about Hanks; they asked who Albert was.
At the time, Albert was a little worried since she knew that she’d probably catch a little bit of grief for playing a chief when she was a 2nd, but it was far worse; she was just teased mercilessly for being a ‘movie star’ (“yeah, you’re too important to be a corpsman now aren’t you?”) during her deployment to the point where she cried herself to sleep in her rack. Reading between the lines, it sounds like it took a change of command to finally put an end to the harassment.Hope her career went well after that, although she seems to have disappeared from social media entirely.
I don’t have a whole lot of beef with this list, with the exception that I’d move Road to Perdition up a few spots and Apollo 13 down. The latter is a fantastic movie that has only gotten better with age and I would put it up there with some of Hanks’ best, but as an actor he is asked to do very little in his role as a military officer and pilot who has to stay in full control at all times.
I think the latter is probably a fair criticism of his military hero roles. He’s a good enough actor so that there are certainly distinct nuances to every character, but Captains Miller, Lovell, and Krause are all about 80% the same person and then like 20% role specific quirks. Granted, since all three are rare positive models for military officers, he’s done a lot of good in the process.
Miller displayed more of a sense of humor than Lovell, although my favorite moments of his in Apollo 13 were funny moments with his family:1. The son is home for holiday break and Lovell’s riding him to get a haircut, while the kid is already sporting a crew cut2. The daughter makes a hippie outfit for Halloween and while fighting with her mom over it asked him if she can wear it. “Sure.” “JIM?!” “ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Parenting 101 right there.Miller’s private moments also took a bit more range. His breakdown after the troop wants to murder the German POW, quiet moments talking to Sizemore (best work of his career, BTW) come to mind.
I was watching Saving Private Ryan (again!) and when Hanks gave the ‘I’m a teacher’ speech, I started crying. Not sure why this viewing prompted the tears but they flowed.
The opening scene leaves you so shell shocked (deliberately, putting you right in the moment with the soldiers) that it lingers throughout the rest of the film. Miller is shown as the consummate professional (listen to how the other Rangers joke about him not being human) and that’s the first time he lets it down. They’ve just been debating killing the German out of pure revenge and are now at each other. Bringing such a quiet moment of humanity into the middle of all that packs a big emotional punch.
Take your star
I got an Otm Shank notification for this!?
He’s India’s answer to Brian Dennehy. OTM SHANK!
Some observations that nobody asked for: “The appropriation and jokes about Pacific Island culture are rough.” That’s actually what I most remember about the movie. How can Polynesian-Jewish fusion culture not be funny?I’ve always found the choices he made portraying Walt Disney a bit puzzling. We have no lack of recordings of the man’s actual voice, and he clearly spoke in the neutral Mid-Western American accent that has largely become the standard in mass media. So, why does Hanks choose to give him a slight Southern twang?If Toy Story was the start of using A-list actors for animated movies, in my opinion, this wasn’t necessarily a good trend. His distinct voice is an excellent fit for Woody and he gives a great performance, but not every actor given roles in animated films has the kind of voice quality that lends itself to the medium. I re-watched Forest Gump recently, and it struck me how much more realistic the CGI in this movie was than in modern day films. I think it comes down to its more limited use to expand upon what was already present, rather than trying to render the entire environment digitally. Its not really remembered as such, but Hanks performance in the title role is actually really understated.I wonder how much Damien Lewis drew on Hanks performance in Saving Private Ryan to portray Richard Winters, since they both project the same kind of fundamental decency that you don’t often seen in military officers on film.Finally, even though it wasn’t a movie, we need to recognize one of Hanks’ greatest performances… getting drunk on vanilla extract then punching Michael J. Fox on Family Ties.
If Toy Story was the start of using A-list actors for animated movies, in my opinion, this wasn’t necessarily a good trend. It wasn’t. Aladdin was the first. With that said, you’re not the only person who feels this way and it’s a pretty contentious topic online. I wonder how much Damien Lewis drew on Hanks performance in Saving Private Ryan to portray Richard WintersWhile I don’t doubt Hanks character helped inspire Lewis, if you go and watch some of Dick Winters interviews, you’ll see he’s actually similar to his on-screen representation. Similar mannerisms and speaking style.
The popular actors vs voice actors debate used to be a very loud one, with most people agreeing voice actors were the way to go. I feel as if A Shark’s Tale was the high point of the debate.Now, though? Many films do a mix of both, and frankly, Hollywood stars have gotten much better at voice acting (or maybe directors learned how to bring out the best in them more.) I think most modern animation is very well acted, even if by big stars. The days of Martin Short absolutely ruining any chance Treasure Planet had of being watchable are long gone.
I’m still not convinced. Several recent Disney and Pixar characters were performed by famous actors and their voices really stand out for being so generic and non-distinct. In Strange World, for example, only Dennis Quaid is really noticeably different from everyone else.
On Dick Winters, now that I think about it, you’re right. I remember being impressed that Damien Lewis even managed to catch a few of the nuances of how someone from around Lancaster PA would speak. These are incredibly subtle, but having cousins from that area, I found it remarkable that a British actor could match their speech pattern.
You can go back much further than Aladdin to find famous actors voicing animated characters in animated movies. Bobby Driscoll was a well known child actor who even won a Juvenile Oscar before he voiced Peter Pan in the 1950s.
I meant that Aladdin is what kicked off our current A-list voice acting dilemma, not Toy Story. I didn’t know that about Peter Pan, but I suppose that makes sense as the VA community was much smaller back then.
Disney had a long practice of casting radio stars in films going all the way back to Snow White. As far as ‘A’ List, I submit George Sanders in Jungle Book, or Peter Ustinov in Robin Hood.
This is The Incredible Mr. Limpet erasure and I will not have it.
As a native southerner I cringed so hard over that accent when I first saw the Forrest Gump trailer, but Hanks is so natural with it that it’s almost like subtitles – you get used to it after about five minutes. Speaking of understatement, his best moment is when Jenny tells him he’s the father of his son, and his expression silently goes from wonder to terror that the boy will be as impaired as he is.
Yeah, that’s a fantastic bit of low key acting in that scene. I interpreted his reaction a little different (more scared that he now needs to be a father, something he has no concept of how to do), but I guess you can read it multiple ways.
I have to think anyone would be overwhelmed in that situation (especially someone as oblivious as Gump) – his first move is to almost collapse. Once Jenny assures him little Forrest is “normal” he recovers almost immediately.
That’s my favourite bit as well. That he silently absorbs that knowledge and then takes those small backwards steps. It’s just fucking amazing.
“I re-watched Forest Gump recently, and it struck me how much more realistic the CGI in this movie was than in modern day films. I think it comes down to its more limited use to expand upon what was already present, rather than trying to render the entire environment digitally”
I think a lot of this comes down to the idea that filmmakers now use CGI to do anything. The camera can swoop over an entire field, shrink down to fit through a keyhole, and then fly up into outerspace, capturing actors* flipping through explosions sending weightless projectiles at them which may or may not cause injuries which will never physically interact with a human actor.
Audiences watch all that and don’t really care, partially because they’ve seen it all before, partially because they know immediately that it’s all detached from reality, but also largely because the actors don’t react to these things either.
The Matrix had a lot of CGI, but the audience was surprised and amazed because Neo was surprised and amazed.
As for Hanks’ non-”Bosom Buddies” TV work, someone should note his portrayal of a drugged up hippie fascinated and terrified by a lava lamp in a flashback to Jim Ignatowski’s years as a Harvard student in an episode of “Taxi”.
Was it vanilla extract? My brain inserts him drinking maraschino cherry juice in my memory of the episode.
I’d have put Saving Private Ryan at number one. “Yes it is… quite a view.” I still think about it all the time. In fact I think it’s the exact scene referred to in the screenshot.
I will not stand for this Cloud Atlas erasure!I do agree with Cast Away as #1 though.
His bit role as a gangster turned author is my favorite part of that movie. You don’t expect Hanks as a cockney murderer who throws people off balconies during cocktail parties. He should play against type more often.
He needs a Jimmy-Stewart-in-Vertigo phase.
Great call.
Yeah, Hugh Grant really hasn’t explored the ‘future cannibal’ stage of his career…
Armie Hammer took over the reins.
“Thank God it’s Friday!”
God bless speech-impaired Dabney Coleman!
Joe vs. the Volcano should be higher, and Bachelor Party and Dragnet were robbed!
I can’t be only one who, when working off a recipe, is excited to see paprika pop up as an ingredient.“And the spice of the day is…paprika!”“Thank you! Thank you! I’m the happiest spice in the world!”
I don’t eat potato salad, but whenever it’s offered, I decline with “No thank you, I prefer chunky style.”
“I want some whiiii-iiine.”
That one also still gets airplay in my house. Dammit, time to watch this again. Actually my favorite scene is when they’re at his future in-laws’ house and the future father in-law is laying out a list of him shortcomings. They cut away to the women’s conversation for a few minutes, and when they come back the FIL is still going. “Well sir, that’s quite a list. And I think if I apply myself I can be a changed man by the time we finish lunch.”Bonus: Prime Tawny Kitaen
Love that one. The tennis scene still kills me.
I’m not arguing that with you!
We must have chicken and waffles, forthwith.
Happy to see Punchline on here as I don’t think it gets nearly the respect it deserves. And that was the movie that showed how great an actor Hanks could be outside of just silly comedies. I also think he did a great job in Nothing In Common, but then again Tom Hanks is my favorite actor and has been for a very long time.
I freaking loved him in Punchline.
No love for Mazes and Monsters?
“There’s blood on my knife…” clearly pointed to the talent he would one day use to thrill the world.
1000% relevant (though now a bit out of date):
Sally Field with her little tits! The best!
It’s a rare thing to see Hanks break bad, but when we do, it’s quite a sight to behold.
“Also here are 20 performances that are better.”Kind of highlights the pointlessness of ranking, at least by number rather than some broader method.
Jame Gumb.
Nice list, but oh man, “Charlie Wilson’s War” should probably be in the Top 10 – that is just an old-fashioned Movie Star performance. “Were you listening through the door??!!”
I’ll nominate Volunteers. The second pairing of Hanks and John Candy.
#21: Road to Perdition
Annnnnd I’m done indulging your list of Tom Hanks things.
Forrest Gump at no. 2? I thought that people decried his performance and accent as extremely offensive toward Southerners and the mentally challenged, and I can absolutely see why.
Nevertheless, him crying at Jenny’s grave at the end was the first time I’ve ever cried at a movie, at the tender age of 9. That scene still chokes me up to this day.
Conspicuous by its absence:
Nothing In Common (1986)Top ten in my opinion. Not the rarified “acting!” heights of Philadelphia or Forrest Gump, but a very fine performance. Comedy highlights with drama gravitas.
Less conspicuous, but I think should be on there:
Turner & Hooch (1989)
Hooch gives Hanks a lot more to act against than Wilson did in Castaway, but Hanks has to do similar kind of work. Underrated gem of a movie, to me.
Y’know, for that matter, Hanks was really good in That Thing You Do (1996).
Supporting actor rather than lead, so I guess it doesn’t count; plus he directed, so that makes it weird to rank. But he’s much less affable in that role than usual; comes across as a sharp who might screw you over. Very different for him, and he’s excellent with it.Plus I love that movie, so there’s that.
His absolute best role:
Tom Tuttle from Tacoma!
You bet.
No love for Mazes & Monsters ??!??
No love for “That Thing You Do!”? I know he wasn’t in a main role, but he still put on a great performance as talent scout Mr. White. Also, unless I’m mistaken, the name of Hanks’ production company (Playtone) comes from this film.
considering he also wrote that movie, I think it would have been a good add too.
You’re right. Because he wrote and directed it as well as acting in it.
Idk, Hanks wasn’t bad in Polar Express. In fact he was the only one in it, right? Oh, except for Eddie Deezen and a couple other “kids” on the train.It’s the animation-style that bothers people with the movie. I’d like to see some 90’s and early 00’s animated movies keep their audio tracks, and totally update their visuals. Polar Express is one. Hoodwinked is another.
I definitely consider Joe vs. the Volcano one of the greatest films ever made.
I’d be fine with it if my legacy was “booze and boobs”.
No Money Pit!!! and seconding everyone who has already said Mazes and Monsters and That Thing You Do and The ‘Burbs. Bachelor Party really didn’t hold up last time I tried to view it.
It’s tough to rank Hanks movies because there are so many little moments that really stick with individual people. I can’t remember 90% of Captain Phillips but that final scene in the sickbay has never left me. In a less serious way, Money Pit is a slog but Hanks’ manic laugh over the cratered bathtub is similarly burned into my brain.
No love for ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’?I’ll get my coat…
This belongs right here:
So Mazes and Monsters isn’t given its due? Disgraceful XD
Cast Away? Really?!
Had to bail the minute I saw Road to Perdition at second to last. Hard pass.
No Volunteers?
No Turner & Hooch?!?
My almost 60yo ass is offended!
I wish there had been a mention of The Money Pit. Truly an underwhelming remake/reboot of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, and Shelley Long is titanically miscast. But it’s a real tour de force for Hanks and physical comedy, and his hysterical breakdown after a bathtub breaks through the floor to the hardwood below is an absolute all-timer – maybe the best I’ve ever seen.
Just a quick response to the headline – Tom Hanks is nowhere near my list of favorite actors, much less the actual favorite.
Big should be #1; he should have gotten the Oscar. No one else could have pulled that off so well.
What about some love for The Burbs and Dragnet?????