Trivia

Enjoys collecting typewriters, purchasing over 80 of them around the globe. His interest in them generated an idea for an iPad application that he developed called Hanx Writer, that simulates antique typewriters sound and feel. It was very successful and made it to to top list on Appstore in August 2014.

His daughter Elizabeth Hanks appears in the movie, Forrest Gump (1994), as the girl on the school bus who refuses to let young Forrest Gump (Michael Conner Humphreys) sit next to her.

He often meets children in random places such as elevators who don't understand how he is "Woody" from Toy Story, but he makes them close their eyes so he can perform the voice, to their enjoyment.

He is a third cousin, four times removed, of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Their common ancestors were John Hanks (1680 - 1740) and his wife, Catherine, who were the great-great-grandparents of Lincoln, and the six times great-grandparents of Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is also a seventh cousin, once removed, of actor George Clooney (Catherine and John Hanks were the seven times great-grandparents of Clooney).

In 2015, Tom Hanks started using his official Twitter feed in part to post photos and locations of lost items (such as gloves, shoes, socks, etc.) that he saw on the streets of New York. In at least one case, this resulted in the lost property being returned to its owner--in October 2015, he found the Fordham College ID for a woman named Lauren, and she retrieved it from his office.

Second actor to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars, for his work in Filadelfia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). The first was Spencer Tracy, for Capitanes Valientes (1937) and Boys Town (1938).

Is a huge fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969). That's the reason he agreed upon playing one of the Canadian Mounties in the Lumberjack song during Concert for George (2003).

He gained weight for and later lost 55 pounds playing Chuck Noland in Náufrago (2000).

Ranked third highest grossing actor of all time with all of his films grossing 4.3 billion dollars in the United States [2016].

His performance as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump (1994) is ranked #43 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Was a member of Monty Python for one night only, filling in for John Cleese, at A Concert For George.

¡Eso que tú haces! (1996) is the only film to feature Tom, wife Rita Wilson, son Colin Hanks and daughter Elizabeth Hanks.

Was in attendance at Princess Diana's funeral along with Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, among others.

Has been good friends with Bruce Springsteen since his youth.

After a one-shot guest appearance on Happy Days (1974), producer Ron Howard asked him to read for a secondary role in Splash (1984), and he got the lead role instead.

Has four children: son Colin Hanks (b. November 24, 1977), and daughter Elizabeth Hanks (b. May 17, 1982) with ex-wife Samantha Lewes; sons Chet Hanks (b. August 4, 1990), and Truman Hanks (b. December 26, 1995) with wife Rita Wilson.

Entertainment Weekly chose him as the only actor worthy of $20 million.

Dislocated his shoulder when he fell through a rotting floor in a building in Germany while scouting locations with Steven Spielberg for the HBO series Banda de hermanos (2001) (1999).

He once worked as a hotel bellman. Some of the celebrity guests whose bags he carried were Cher, Sidney Poitier, Slappy White and Bill Withers.

Is the third most-represented actor (behind Sidney Poitier and Gary Cooper) on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, with four of his films making the list. They are: Forrest Gump (1994) at #37, Filadelfia (1993) at #20, Apolo 13 (1995) at #12, and Rescatando al soldado Ryan (1998) at #10.

He has appeared in ten films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Forrest Gump (1994), Apolo 13 (1995), Rescatando al soldado Ryan (1998), Milagros inesperados (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010), Tan fuerte y tan cerca (2011), Capitán Phillips (2013), Puente de espías (2015), The Post: Los oscuros secretos del Pentágono (2017) and Elvis (2022). Forrest Gump won in the category.

He and his good friend Meg Ryan have been co-stars in three movies as love interests: Sintonía de amor (1993), Joe contra el volcán (1990) and Tienes un e-mail (1998).

His performance as Josh Baskin in Quisiera ser grande (1988) is ranked #15 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

Bought the film rights to a true crime story, outbidding other studios by paying $1 million for A Cold Case, about a detective's quest to solve the 1970 murder of a New York restaurant owner. As well as producing it, he's also interested in taking the lead role.

Married Rita Wilson at Saint Sophia's Church, after converting to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Tom Hanks was, respectively, 38 and 39 when he won his back-to-back Best Actor Oscars in 1994 and 1995, exactly like Spencer Tracy when he won in 1938 and 1939.

Received American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, presented by fellow Oscar winner Steven Spielberg, the youngest ever to receive that award (12 June 2002).

Sold popcorn and peanuts as a teenager at the Oakland Coliseum.

Returned to his old high school, Skyline High School in Oakland, California, to dedicate a renovated theater named for Rawley T. Farnsworth, the retired drama teacher he thanked in his Filadelfia (1993) Oscar speech. Oakland Tribune reports Hanks donated about 1/4 of the $465,000 cost of the project. Then he led the audience of some 1000 people in a chorus of "There's No Business Like Show Business" (6 March 2002).

Has portrayed 8 real-life people in his films: Jim Lovell in Apolo 13 (1995), Charlie Wilson in Juego de Poder (2007), Captain Richard Phillips in Capitán Phillips (2013), Walt Disney in El sueño de Walt (2013), James B. Donovan in Puente de espías (2015), Captain 'Chesley Sullenberger' in Sully: Hazaña en el Hudson (2016), Ben Bradlee in The Post: Los oscuros secretos del Pentágono (2017), and Fred Rogers in Un buen día en el vecindario (2019).

Has two granddaughters, Olivia Jane Hanks (b. February 1, 2011) and Charlotte Bryant Hanks (b. July 1, 2013), through son Colin Hanks and his wife Samantha Bryant.

Is a huge fan of Doctor Who (1963).

Hanks cited the help of a nearby ice cream shop which helped him gain 30 pounds for his role in Un equipo muy especial (1992).

Received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the United States Navy's highest civilian honor, on Veterans Day 1999 for his work in the epic Rescatando al soldado Ryan (1998).

Has been referred to by many as "the modern James Stewart".

His top five all-time favorite films are 2001. Odisea del espacio (1968), El padrino (1972), Fargo. Secuestro voluntario (1996), Elefante (2003) and Boogie Nights: Juegos de placer (1997), with Stanley Kubrick's film holding the top ranking.

Has another brother who is a professor at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.

Distant cousin of Walt Disney, who he portrayed in El sueño de Walt (2013).

His Oscar acceptance speech for Filadelfia (1993) led to the plot of the movie ¿Es o no es? (1997). Hanks thanked a gay teacher in his speech.

Related to Bill Cosby's wife Camille O. Cosby (née Camille Olivia Hanks), as both share a biological lineage to Abraham Lincoln through Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks.

He once shared a record (with Tom Cruise and Will Smith) as the actor to star in the most consecutive $100 million-grossing movies (7). As of 2008, Smith holds the record alone with 8 movies.

The asteroid "12818 tomhanks" was named after him.

Has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes on October 7, 2013.

Is a huge fan of La ley y el orden: Unidad de Víctimas Especiales (1999), and has expressed desire to one day guest star on the series.

He has appeared in five films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Un equipo muy especial (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Apolo 13 (1995), Toy Story (1995) and Rescatando al soldado Ryan (1998).

After his parents Amos and Janet divorced in 1960, siblings Tom, Larry and Sarah went to live with their father, staying in 10 different homes in 5 years, while younger brother Jim remained with their mother.

Hanks designated 2001. Odisea del espacio (1968) as his favorite film for an AFI poll.

He was voted the 26th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Has played a captain in 7 different movies: Forrest Gump (1994), Apolo 13 (1995), Rescatando al soldado Ryan (1998), Capitán Phillips (2013), Sully: Hazaña en el Hudson (2016), News of the World (2020) and Greyhound: en la mira del enemigo (2020).

According to the family genealogy website Ancestry, Tom and Fred Rogers are sixth cousins and share the same great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Johannes Mefford.