Mt. Rushmore- Tom Hanks
I said in a previous entry that Matt Damon is my favorite actor & right now that is still true. But I often swap back and forth between he & Tom Hanks. I also think the greatest actor of the modern era is either Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, or Denzel Washington. So all that being said, this was an insanely hard filmography to narrow down to 4 roles. And naturally there are so many honorable mentions to honorably mention. Like so many. Captain John H. Miller in ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ Jimmy Dugan in ‘A League of Their Own,’ Andrew Beckett in ‘Philadelphia,’ Paul Edgecomb in ‘The Green Mile,’ Walt Disney in ‘Saving Mr. Banks,’ Fred Rogers in ‘It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,’ Captain Richard Phillips in ‘Captain Phillips,’ The Conductor in ‘The Polar Express,’ Otto Anderson in ‘A Man Called Otto,’ Captain Chesley Sullenberger in ‘Sully,’ Carl Hanratty in ‘Catch Me If You Can,’ James B. Donovan in ‘Bridge of Spies,’ Jim Lovell in ‘Apollo 13,’ Josh Baskin in ‘Big,’ Sam Baldwin in ‘Sleepless in Seattle,’ & Joe Fox in ‘You’ve Got Mail.’ Wow, I’m out of breath just typing those.
Robert Langdon in ‘The Da Vinci Code’ & sequels- This may come as a shock over some of Hanks’s Oscar-nominated & even winning roles. But I think reprising a role can be a valuable mark of iconicity. This is one of only two roles that Hanks has played more than once, playing the character thrice in ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ ‘Angels & Demons,’ & ‘Inferno.’ The films are collectively known as the Robert Langdon series, tell the story of the professor of Religious Iconology & Symbology, & grossed $1.5 billion combined.
Chuck Noland in ‘Cast Away’- This 2000 role won Hanks a Golden Globe and got an Oscar nomination as well. I would personally say of Hanks’s performances that I’ve seen this is his second best performance since most of it is him acting alone, or with a volleyball. He goes through an array of emotions all of which Hanks brings to the screen brilliantly.
Woody in the ‘Toy Story’ franchise- I talked about reprisal and Hanks has played Woody in four films (at least one more on the way) & three shorts. Woody is easily the most recognizable character on this list from a multi-billion dollar franchise. When people think Pixar they think Toy Story and when they think Toy Story they think Woody. I think this was really a no brainer.
Forrest Gump in ‘Forrest Gump’- Well of course. If you’ve been here a while you know I think this is the greatest film there is, in large part to Hanks. Forrest is an iconic character for a reason, he’s lived through most major events of the 20th century, and left his mark on all of them. I think I’d say this is the best acting performance I’ve seen & recently I’ve seen many people that are cinephiles like myself trying to dog on this movie and I personally just don’t get it. I think it’s well praised for a reason, and Gump will always have a place here.
