The Appeal of Tom Hanks Screen Persona

Hes movies modern day everyman -- the guy we want to hang out with, readily cheer for,
and always relate to. And with this likeable persona, Tom Hanks has risen to the top of
Hollywood stardom.
Hanks first made his mark in comedies. He charmed us as the breezy Pep Streebeck
loosening up Dan Akyroyds no-nonsense Joe Friday in Dragnet. As Jimmy Dugan, coach of
the all-girls baseball team in A League of Their Own, we all howled when he lamented,
Theres no crying in baseball! And when he was winning Meg Ryans heart in Sleepless in
Seattle and Youve Got Mail, Hanks was no doubt stealing a few female hearts of his steadily
growing fan base.
The actor proved equally adept at drama. Whether as stranded astronaut Jim Lovell in Apollo
13, Saving Private Ryans war weary Captain John Miller, or steadfast Fed Ex delivery man
Chuck Noland fighting for survival in Cast Away, he moved the masses. And who could
forget his performances in Forrest Gump and Philadelphia? Its easy to see why they both
won him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
For Hanks, the road to stardom started in 1984. By then, the actor had already carved out a
respectable television career with guest roles in The Love Boat, Happy Days, Taxi and Family
Ties. Audiences knew him best for his short-lived but memorable sitcom Bosom Buddies, a
zany half hour that found him and co-star Peter Scolari playing freewheeling ad execs forced
to dress in drag when the only accommodations available is an apartment in a women only
building.
For his leap to the big screen, Hanks played to his strength -- comedy. Simultaneously, he hit
theatres with two very different films, the raunchy R-rated Bachelor Party, and the sweet
romantic fantasy Splash. Directed by Ron Howard, Splash had Hanks playing a lovelorn
average guy who becomes romantically involved with a mermaid (Daryl Hannah). Most
thought the film was a hit, few thought much of his performance. Robert Ebert, in his
Chicago Sun Times review, called Hanks conventionally handsome and passably appealing.
In 1988 Hanks shot to fame when Penny Marshall tapped him to star in her film Big.
Tired of being picked on by the boys in his class and ignored by the girls, undersized 13-yearold Josh Baskin (David Moscow) makes a fateful wish that he could forgo the rest of
childhood and move right to being an adult. Much to his surprise and horror, the next day he
wakes up as a fully grown man -- played by Hanks.
Hanks excels at playing a kid in an adult body. The New York Times Janet Maslin raved,
Wide-eyed, excited and wonderfully guileless, Mr Hanks is an absolute delight and Big
features believable young teen-age mannerisms from the two real boys in its cast, and this
only makes Mr Hanks funny, flawless impression that much more adorable.
Washington Post reviewer Hal Hinson also noted, Hanks work here is astoundingly deft and
light-fingered. His performance has an endearing, lost-innocent quality and, without
indulging himself, he never lets us lose sight of the fact that were watching a kid.

Big was big at the box office, earning over $114 million during its domestic theatrical run. It
also earned Hanks his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. And though he lost
out to Dustin Hoffman in Rain-man, there was no denying that this performance catapulted
Hanks to stardom.