The start of a long career: the one role Tom Hanks doesn’t want to be remembered for
Since making his feature debut in 1980, Tom Hanks has amassed a colossal filmography, with each new project further familiarising him to the masses. His catalogue now spans family favourites, Academy Award-winners, and some iconic 1990s rom-coms. He’s played a real-life astronaut, an animated cowboy, and even a hot chocolate-peddling train conductor, giving his all to each and every role.
There’s a whole career’s worth of material for him to look back on, backed up by box office success and almost every acting award you can think of. From Forrest Gump to the Toy Story series, Hanks’ films and characters are amongst the most well-known and well-loved of all time, a fact the actor himself takes real pride in.
He also takes pride in the hard-working people he collaborates with. During an interview with Mythical Kitchen in which he picked out what would be his last meal, Hanks was asked about his career regrets. He struggled to pick out a film that he would least like to be remembered for, demonstrating his real appreciation for each project he takes part in.
“Every one of these movies are made in the greatest faith imaginable,” Hanks commented, “Everybody is working really hard.” He was reluctant to put down that “communal effort” by criticising any of his previous projects, prioritising pride in their work over shame.
Some films may be objectively “better” than others, more likely to take home awards or win over audiences, but each and every project is still the combined effort of a cast and crew. Even a flop of a film is still a massive achievement. The fact that Hanks acknowledges this and stands by the people he works with is refreshing.
If he did have to pick one project to scratch from his filmography, however, Hanks named his 1980 appearance in The Love Boat as the venture he’d least like to be remembered for. Marking the start of Hanks’ career, the same year he starred in his first feature – He Knows You’re Alone – it’s no surprise that this short role takes the hit.
The Love Boat was a rom-com television series set on the seas, which Hanks appeared in for one episode in the show’s fourth season. He plays a friend of Fred Grandy’s Gopher, making fun of him like he did back in college. Between clichéd comedic writing and laugh tracks, Hanks had little space to show off his acting skills, so it’s understandable that he takes slightly less pride in this project.
It makes sense that Hanks was more willing to criticise a project he only appeared in shortly, very early into his career. Still, without those initial steps into the industry, he might never have become the actor we know and love today. Before long, he was landing roles in bigger and better films like Splash and Big – the latter marking the first blockbuster to be directed by a woman.
Fortunately for Hanks, this short appearance certainly won’t be the performance that forges his legacy. Between Sheriff Woody and Forrest Gump, Sam from Sleepless in Seattle and the protagonist of Big, he has far more iconic roles to be revered and remembered for. Still, if you’re a fan of Hanks’ work, that one episode of The Love Boat might be worth a watch, if only to see how far he’s come.
Watch Tom Hanks in The Love Boat below.
