Joey Magidson
Tom Hanks is truly among our best actors, in addition to being one of our most iconic. Two Academy Awards doesn’t feel like enough, while the long Oscar nomination drought felt almost criminal. And yet, no matter what, Hanks has been a welcome presence in anything and everything he shows up in. There’s legends, to be sure, but then there’s Hanks, who is in an echelon all his own these days. With Here having just hit theaters, it feels like a good time to run down some of the highlights of Hanks’ career so far.
Below, you can see my ranking of Hanks’ best work. I haven’t included Here, partly for having not seen it, but there’s still a wide variety of his career at play. For my money, Philadelphia is his finest hour, with Big not far behind. At the same time, this is likely the only list to have Turner & Hooch anywhere near the top five, so you can never accuse this of being a carbon copy. Comedy, drama, it’s all here, as you’re about to find out…
Here now is how I stack up the best performances of Tom Hanks’ career. Behold:
Honorable Mention: Bridge of Spies, Catch Me if You Can, Charlie Wilson’s War, A Man Called Otto, The Post, Road to Perdition, Sleepless in Seattle, Splash, Sully, and The Terminal
10. A League of Their Own
9. Saving Private Ryan
8. Apollo 13
7. Forrest Gump
6. Captain Phillips
5. Turner & Hooch
4. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
3. Cast Away
2. Big
1. Philadelphia
What are your favorite Tom Hanks performances? Let us know!
Love to see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ranked so high. A sterling example of an actor in perfect synchronicity with his director to turn a seemingly insurmountable limitation (Tom Hanks doesn’t look or sound much at all like Fred Rogers) into something that ends up with a more complex and haunting characterization, and one that fits like a handmade suit within the finished film.
It’s a stunningly effective performance, one I still think about.
One of my favorites…and one that is weirdly underrated as an actor currently. Just like the bunch he’s in the conversation for the best actor/actress around with…he’s just so damn good and so consistently good. On this depressing day it brought me some joy to thing about his movies.
Hey, I love The Terminal, so seeing that there is great…