11 Amazing Tom Hanks Big Screen Performances

Disney+

Big isn’t just a movie about wanting to be older when you’re young, it’s a reminder that you can still be young at heart when you’re an adult. Hanks brilliantly conveys the mannerisms and affectations of a kid that has been dropped into an adult body in this comedy with a big heart. Big is fun for all ages.

Photography: 20th Century Studios

Disney+

Tom Hanks’ most successful film franchise doesn’t even feature his face. Since 1995, Hanks has voiced Woody in the Toy Story movies. These modern animated classics have grossed a staggering combined $3.3 billion at the global box office.

Photography: Walt Disney Pictures

Prime Video VOD

Philadelphia earned Tom Hanks his first Academy Award for Best Actor before he came back to win again the following year for Forrest Gump. Philadelphia is a powerful story that helped shine a light on the AIDS crisis in America. This emotionally exhausting film is not for the faint of heart and shows the incredible range Hanks has as an actor.

Photography: TriStar Pictures

MGM+

Tom Hanks has wondered why nobody ever wants to talk to him about Road to Perdition, a movie he considers to be one of his best. This gangster road film is one of the only movies Hanks has ever acted in where he’s the bad guy, albeit still a mostly redeemable one. Hanks delivers a nuanced performance that is criminally underrated.

Photography: DreamWorks Pictures

Prime Video VOD

Tom Hanks stars as a prison guard in this incredible fantasy drama based on a Stephen King book. This supernatural story has been heralded as one of the most emotionally touching movies ever made, in no small part thanks to what Hanks brings to the role. Michael Clarke Duncan, Sam Rockwell and James Cromwell round out the all-star cast.

Photography: Warner Bros.

Peacock

Sleepless in Seattle is one of the most beloved romantic comedies of all time thanks to the incredible chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The two first starred in a movie together three years prior in Joe Versus The Volcano, and then again five years later in You’ve Got Mail. You can’t help but fall in love with their on-screen relationship.

Photography: TriStar Pictures

Paramount+

Saving Private Ryan is among the most gruesome depictions of warfare that’s ever been produced for the silver screen. The opening battle on Omaha Beach is horrifically haunting and it’s just the beginning as a group of soldiers set out on an impossible mission. Saving Private Ryan is one of Hanks’ most subtle and powerful performances.

Photography: Paramount Pictures

Netflix

Apollo 13 tells the harrowing true story about a group of astronauts who overcame insurmountable odds to make it home safely when things went wrong in space. Even though audiences know the movie has a happy ending, Tom Hanks carries the tension with a grounded performance that takes place far above the Earth’s atmosphere. Simply put, this Ron Howard movie is out of this world.

Photography: Universal Pictures

Prime Video VOD

Tom Hanks delivers the performance of a lifetime in Cast Away as a man struggling to survive on a desert island. With a volleyball as his only co-star for most of the movie, Tom Hanks carries the film as audiences ride the highs and lows he experiences on his journey. Cast Away is a trip you’ll never regret taking.

Photography: 20th Century Fox

Prime Video VOD

A League of Their Own is a sports movie unlike any other as Hanks assumes the role of a reluctant coach leading a team of unlikely champions. This movie is responsible for the quote, “There’s no crying in baseball,” which is one of the greatest sports movie lines in history. The movie features some heavy hitters including Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna.

Photography: Columbia Pictures