Résumé
Tom Hanks was born July 9, 1956 in Concord, California. He first studied theater at Chabot College and later transferred to Sacramento State, where he claims he spent all of his free time going to plays.
He decided to leave school to intern at the Great Lake’s theater festival in Cleveland, where he was involved in all aspects of the theater, including lighting, set design and stage management.
In 1979, he moved to New York where he was cast in his first TV role as Kip Wilson on Bosom Buddies which was being shot in Los Angeles. The show ran for two seasons and not only earned him an important TV credit but introduced him to his future wife, Rita Wilson, whom he married in 1988.
Hanks caught another lucky break in 1982 when he had a guest appearance on Happy Days. He met then-actor Ron Howard who later cast him in the lead of the hit movie Splash which grossed over 69 million dollars and turned Hanks into a star.
Among his other popular movies are Big, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, Cast Away, The DaVinci Code and Catch Me If You Can. In 1993, he won the Oscar for best actor, in Philadelphia and again the following year for Forrest Gump. He has been nominated for three others.
He is a member of the National Space Society and a supporter of environmental causes including finding alternative fuel sources.
He has two children, a son Colin - who is an actor - and a daughter, Elizabeth.