Tom Hanks He is an American actor and filmmaker known for his roles in both comedies and dramas. He is one of the most popular and recognizable movie stars in the world, and is often seen as an American icon. Hanks has received numerous honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and French Legion of Honor in 2016, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. Demille Award in 2020. For his work on television He has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards, and in 2013, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Lucky man.
Throughout his career, Hanks has made many dramatic films, from war dramas to romantic dramas. Here are his 15 best drama Ranked movies.
15 Larry Crown
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The pinnacle of entertainment
A middle-aged man loses his job and chooses to reinvent himself by going back to college in this romantic comedy-drama Larry Crown. Released in 2011, the movie is produced and directed by Hanks. Inspired by his time studying at Chabot College, he plays the titular Larry Crowne as he loses his job at a department store due to his lack of a college education despite his seniority and model work. While the film received mixed reviews, critics found the chemistry between Hanks and co-star Julia Roberts to be relaxed and easygoing, with a good premise and a good supporting cast.
14 Turner and Hook
Turner and Hook is a 1989 crime comedy-drama starring Hanks and Beasley the Dog as the titular characters, respectively. The film follows Detective Scott Turner, a Cypress Beach, California, detective who must adopt a mischievous dog named Hoosh to help him find a killer. Turner’s friend, Amos Reed, is found murdered, and the only witness to the crime is Hooch, which means that Hooch can identify the killer. While Turner is reluctant to take the dog in, as he has no experience with such an animal, he has no other choice. Turner and Hooke are polar opposites. Follows a meticulous routine and lifestyle, while the dog is noisy and destructive.
13 Sleepless in Seattle
Sleepless in Seattle It is a 1993 romantic comedy-drama film starring Hanks and Meg Ryan. The film follows Annie Reed (Ryan), a newly engaged journalist who becomes infatuated with the recently widowed architect, Sam Baldwin (Hanks), when his son calls a talk radio show asking for a new partner for his grieving father. Inspired by the romantic movie An affair to rememberreleased in 1957, Sleepless in Seattle It took a while to get to the screen, on Deadline, as many studios rejected the script because the lead couple don’t even get together for almost the entire movie. Even when the two plan to meet, they continually miss each other until the very last scene.
12 big
Comedy drama movie big It was released in 1988. The plot follows a 12-year-old boy named Josh Baskin, who wakes up one morning under mysterious circumstances in an adult’s body after wishing to be big. There’s nothing quite like going to bed like a twelve-year-old and waking up the next morning a full-fledged adult, realizing that no one is going to believe that you are actually a child. Josh must rent a room and get a job as a data entry clerk at a gaming company while searching for the fortune-telling machine that made his wish come true.
While Josh works at the toy company pitching ideas for new games, he meets Susan Lawrence and begins a romantic relationship with her. A little strange considering that this is literally a child in an adult’s body, but in the end, the two say their goodbyes as Josh returns to his child form.
11 a league of their own
released in 1992, a league of their own is a sports comedy-drama film that tells the fictional account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the first women’s professional baseball league. Two sisters join the team and struggle to help it succeed amidst their growing rivalry. Hanks plays Jimmy Duggan, the cynical alcoholic Cubs slugger who runs The Peaches. Dugan initially treats the team as a joke, and is scathing towards his players.
10 Sully
Sully is a 2016 biographical drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, based on the 2009 biography Highest Duty by Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jeffrey Scales. Hanks plays Sullenberger, after his January 2008 emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River. While all 155 passengers and crew escaped with only minor injuries, the film continues the subsequent publicity and investigation of the event.
Sully It received largely positive reviews from critics and grossed over $240 million worldwide. However, he has also generated controversy with his portrayal of the NTSB as close-minded and suing. Regardless, the film was selected by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review as one of their best films of 2016.
9 station
Directed by Steven Spielberg, station is a 2004 comedy-drama film starring Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film follows Victor Navorsky (Hanks), a traveler from the fictional country of Krakosia, who becomes stuck in the lounge of New York’s JFK Airport when he is denied entry to the United States. At the same time, he cannot return home due to a military coup. The film is partly inspired by the story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who spent 18 years in Terminal 1 of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in France after traveling from Brussels to London via Paris. He was sent back to Paris because he lost his passport.
8 Spies Bridge
Spies Bridge is a 2015 historical drama directed by Spielberg, with Hanks starring as James P. Donovan, an insurance attorney hired to be the legal advisor to Rudolph Abel. Set in New York City in 1967, Abel has been arrested and charged with espionage for the Soviet Union. While Donovan is recruited to defend the Soviet spy in court, he helps the CIA facilitate the exchange of the spy for the captured American U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers. The film received critical acclaim for its screenplay, Spielberg’s direction, Thomas Newman’s musical score, production values, and for the performances of Hanks and co-star Mark Rylance.
7 The road to perdition
Released in 2002, crime drama film The road to perdition Follows the son of a mob enforcer in 1930s Illinois who witnesses a murder. He and his father are forced to hit the road, seeking revenge on the gang that killed the rest of their family. Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, Sr., with Tyler Hoechlin playing his son. Filmed in the Chicago area, director Sam Mendes sought to follow a story with minimal dialogue and convey emotion through imagery. The film was well received by critics, with Hanks’ performance highly praised.
6 Philadelphia
Philadelphia It is a 1993 legal drama film starring Hanks and Denzel Washington. Filmed and set in the city of the same name, the film follows the story of gay man Andrew Beckett (Hanks), who asks Joe Miller (Washington), a lawyer, to help him sue his employers. His employers fired him after discovering he had AIDS. Beckett is a senior assistant at a law firm, and hides his homosexuality and AIDS patient status from the rest of the firm.
However, the partner notices a lesion on his head, which is an indication of an AIDS-defining Kaposi’s sarcoma condition. While he stays home from work to find a way to hide the pests, he leaves the papers for a case in his office, with instructions for his assistants to file the papers. But, the copy can’t be found until the last minute, and he gets fired due to a paperwork disaster. In fact, Beckett believes that someone deliberately hid the papers to give the company an excuse to fire him, and that the real reason he left was because of AIDS.
5 Apollo 13
Space docudrama movie Apollo 13 It was released in 1995 and stars Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris, and Gary Sinise. The film follows the aborted 1970 Apollo 13 lunar mission. Hanks plays Commander Jim Lovell, who along with Jack Swigert (Bacon) and Fred Haise (Paxton) aboard Apollo 13 on America’s fifth manned mission to the Moon. However, an onboard explosion deprives the spacecraft of most of its oxygen supply and electrical power, forcing NASA flight controllers to abort the mission and improvise solutions to return the astronauts safely to Earth.
4 forsaken
released in 2000, forsaken Drama starring Hanks, Helen Hunt and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter named Chuck Noland who is stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific Ocean. The film follows his desperate attempts to survive and return home.
grossing $429 million worldwide, forsaken It is the third highest-grossing film of 2000 and received positive reviews from critics, praising Hanks’ performance. At the 58th Golden Globe Awards, Hanks won Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 73rd Academy Awards.
3 Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan Normandy Landings follows as a group of American soldiers march behind enemy lines to rescue a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. The war drama was directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1998. Hanks plays Captain John Miller, who leads the group of soldiers to rescue Private James Ryan (Matt Damon). The film is based on the books of Stephen E. Ambrose and the accounts of victims among members of the same family.
Saving Private Ryan It became one of the most successful films of 1998, winning critical acclaim for its originality and graphic depiction of combat – so much so that some WWII veterans were unable to watch it because of their traumatic memories.
2 green mile
green mile is a 1999 fantasy drama film based on Stephen King’s 1996 novel of the same name. It stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb, a prison guard on death row during the Great Depression who witnesses paranormal phenomena after a mysterious convict arrives at his facility. While the film received criticism for its running time of just over three hours, it has since gained a reputation as one of the most emotionally affecting films ever made. Critics also rated Hanks’ performance in the film.
1 forrest gump
forrest gump is a critically acclaimed comedy-drama film released in 1994. Based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom, the film stars Hanks as the titular character, a slow-witted and suave Alabama man. The film follows several decades of his life and experiences in the 20th century. Forrest tells his life story to strangers who happen to be sitting next to him at a bus stop.
He meets many icons of the 20th century, including a young Elvis Presley, President John F. Kennedy in the White House, Bear Bryant, Abbey Hoffman, and John Lennon. It has been shown to have influenced many of these icons, such as Elvis’ dancing style with Forrest’s jerky movements due to his leg braces and curved spine, and as having influenced Lennon’s song, “Imagine”. The movie also tells the long-term love story of Forrest and Jenny Curran.
