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Born Thomas Jeffrey Hanks in Concord, CA; educated at California State University, Sacramento. Versatile, much-admired actor whose early popularity in mainstream comedies led to a skillful transition to more sophisticated comedic and dramatic roles. Hanks dropped out of college in 1977 to intern with the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, where he stayed for three seasons before moving east and making his New York debut as Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew at the Riverside Theater. Mainstream exposure came with his casting as Kip/Buffy Wilson opposite Peter Scolari in the ABC sitcom "Bosom Buddies" (1980-82), about a pair of ad men forced to cross-dress in order to keep a cheap apartment in a NYC women's hotel. Hanks found immediate stardom with his first leading movie role, opposite a be-finned Daryl Hannah in Ron Howard's mermaid comedy, SPLASH (1984). The funny, if relentlessly sophomoric BACHELOR PARTY (1984) was followed by a handful of misfires, including THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE (1985), VOLUNTEERS (1985) and THE MONEY PIT (1986) before the actor rebounded with an Oscar-nominated performance in Penny Marshall's BIG (1988). The role of a 12-year-old child stuck in the body of a 35 year-old man capitalized on Hanks's youthful charm, though it also fixed him -- perhaps permanently -- with the label "boyish." Hanks's post-BIG attempts to play against type have met with mixed results. His casting as Wall Street heavyweight Sherman McCoy was considered one of the crucial misjudgments that scuttled Brian De Palma's adaptation of BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES (1990). Another attempt to shed his nice-guy image, in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992), also directed by Marshall, was more successful, though Hanks's hard-drinking, tobacco-chewing, ex-ball player routine convinced moviegoers more than it did critics. Hanks returned to romantic comedies with the cross-country romance SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993), which reteamed him with Meg Ryan and managed to suggest the loneliness of the aging "boy" who has found it hard to meet people. His choice of roles ventured into even sadder -- and considerably more ambitious -- territory with Jonathan Demme's well-intentioned PHILADELPHIA (1993), in which Hanks played a gay man fired from his job once it is discovered that he has AIDS. Hanks's wrenching performance earned him the Oscar® for Best Actor. His first Oscar seemed to mark the big turning point in his career. He followed it the very next year with another Best Actor Award for FORREST GUMP (1994), joining the elite group of actors with back-to-back leading actor wins (Louise Rainer 1936-1937, Spencer Tracy 1937-1938, and Katharine Hepburn 1967-1968). Hanks is now one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood, and he continues to deliver the goods: As the C.O. in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998), the head prison guard in THE GREEN MILE (1999), or the marooned subject of 2000's CAST AWAY (also producer). Other notable (non-nominated) credits include DRAGNET (1987), PUNCHLINE (1988), THE 'BURBS and TURNER & HOOCH (both 1989), JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO (1990), TOY STORY (voice) and APOLLO 13 (both 1995), THAT THING YOU DO! (1996, also writer & director), YOU'VE GOT MAIL (1998), TOY STORY 2 (voice, 1999), ROAD TO PERDITION and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (both 2002), THE TERMINAL, ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING, THE POLAR EXPRESS and THE LADYKILLERS (all 2004), CARS (voice) and THE DA VINCI CODE (both 2006), CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (2007), THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD, BOONE'S LICK and ANGELS & DEMONS (all scheduled for 2008), and FAHRENHEIT 451 (announced for 2009). As a producer, Hanks' credits include "From the Earth to the Moon" (1998, TV mini-series), "West Point" (2000, TV series, exec. producer), "Band of Brothers" and "We Stand Alone Together" (both 2001, TV mini-series, both exec. producer), MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002), CONNIE AND CARLA and THE POLAR EXPRESS (both 2004), THE ANT BULLY, STARTER FOR 10 and NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD (all 2006), and EVAN ALMIGHTY, the TV series "Big Love" and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (all 2007). Upcoming projects include A WILDERNESS OF MONKEYS, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, SURFER DUDE, THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD, MAMMA MIA!, "John Adams" (TV mini-series), CITY OF EMBER, THE RISK POOL, BOONE'S LICK, THEY MARCHED INTO SUNLIGHT and MY LIFE IN RUINS (all scheduled for 2008), and "The Pacific" (TV mini-series planned for 2009). Hanks was married to Samantha Lewes (1952-2002) from 1978 to 1987; their children are actors Colin Hanks (b. 1977) and Elizabeth Hanks (b. 1982). In 1988, he married actress Rita Wilson, whom he met on the set of VOLUNTEERS. They have two children. Since 2001, Hanks has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Actors Branch). In 2002, he became the youngest person ever to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award.  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1988: BIG  Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1993: PHILADELPHIA  Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1994: FORREST GUMP  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1998: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 2000: CAST AWAY 5 nominations, 2 Awards