Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-, two-time Emmy-, four-time Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American film actor, director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving notable success as a dramatic actor in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. He is also one of only three actors in the history of film to have seven consecutive US$100 million blockbusters, the two other being Tom Cruise and Will Smith.

Born in California, Tom Hanks grew up in what he calls a 'fractured' family. His parents were pioneers in the development of marriage dissolution law in that state, and Tom moved around a lot, living with a succession of step-families. No problems, no abuse, no alcoholism, just a confused childhood. He had no acting experience in college, and in fact credits the fact that he couldn't get cast in a college play with actually starting his career - he went downtown, auditioned for a community theater play, was invited by the director of that play to go to Cleveland, and there his acting career started. He met his second wife, actress Rita Wilson (I) on the set of the movie Volunteers (1985) - they have two children and Tom has another son and daughter by his first wife. In 1996 he made his first step behind the camera, directing as well as starring and writing the film That Thing You Do! (1996).