Tom Hanks is one of America’s most celebrated actors with a career in movies spanning over 3 decades with 72 titles under his belt. He’s had award winning performances in classics such as Forrest Gump, Castaway, The Green Mile, Toy Story and many more. The 57 year old has won 2 Academy Awards and 4 Golden Globes. A benchmark only a small selection of actors in Hollywood’s history have achieved. He has become the highest paid actor in history with a salary of $50 million for 2009’s Angels and Demons and a whopping $70 million for Forrest Gump. His net worth is a staggering $350 million. That’s literally the combined lifetime earnings of Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Katy Perry and Britney Spears put together. Wow!
Not only does he get a salary for his starring roles but he also gets an additional profit from the film’s grossing. Hanks is box office gold and his name only garners a flock of millions buying tickets for his films. As of 2012, Hanks’ films have grossed over $4.2 billion at the United States box office alone, and over $8.5 billion worldwide making him the highest all time box office star. His latest film Captain Phillips maybe added to his list of award winning films. Many critics have already acknowledged it as one of Hanks best performances giving him attention to another potential Oscar nomination.
In 2013 Hanks is still on top of his game with 4 films in the works including Inferno, Captain Phillips, Toy Story 4 and Saving Mr Banks. For the past 13 years Hanks has ranked on Forbes “Celebrity 100” list since it’s formation. The list compiles the most powerful and wealthiest celebrities of the year. Hanks ranks among the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Madonna. The actor is expanding his skills with the title of producer and director in several television projects. HBO announced two years ago Tom Hanks would be producing a television series for the cable network called American Gods. The series will be based off a Neil Gaiman novel. Hanks’s production company is set to produce at least six seasons of Gods, which will potentially consist of ten or so hour-long episodes, with a budget of around $35 to 40 million per season. Hanks first directing credit came in the 1996 film That Thing You Do. The film helped boost the careers of young actresses Charlize Theron and Liv Tyler.
Thomas Jefferey Hanks endured a series of struggles as a child going from home to home after his parents divorced. The actor described his upbringing as dysfunctional. As a teenager Hanks entertained the thought of being an actor by auditioning for school plays but he was never cast. He eventually dropped out of college and finally got a role in a community theater play. The plays director noticed his potential and was the first person to encourage his acting career. 30 years later he is the most powerful person in Hollywood and his career continues to grow.
