What was Tom Hanks’ first movie role?
The image of Tom Hanks as “America’s dad” is one firmly ingrained into the collective consciousness of cinema fans. Buoyed by his affable nature, the comforting smile of Hanks is one that has landed him countless roles, from his star turn as the voice for Woody in Toy Story to his more recent role as Mr Rogers, there’s a charming warmth to Hanks that is unbeatable, even considering his wide range of more dramatic roles.
Rarely playing the villain, Hanks’ unique ability to assimilate into our minds as whatever character he is playing with a jovial bounce and a playful aura makes him the perfect fodder for roles that pitch him as thew lovable but unlikely hero. Performances in Castaway, Sully, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can and Road to Perdition are a testament to this. However, that doesn’t mean hanks is without an ego.
As a young man, the teenage Hanks penned a unique letter to director George Roy Hill claiming that he needed to be “discovered” because he was certain that he was destined for stardom and it was only “fit and proper” that the director work with him. “Now, right away, I know what you are thinking (‘who is this kid?’), and I can understand your apprehensions. I am a nobody. No one outside of Skyline High School has heard of me. … My looks are not stunning. I am not built like a Greek God, and I can’t even grow a moustache, but I figure if people will pay to see certain films … they will pay to see me.”
He was right. Since his first roles in major motion pictures, Tom Hanks has become a box office draw. Despite not having leading man looks or being an actor deeply engrained in what is perceived as artistic craft, Hanks has gathered a career that is the envy of almost all of Hollywood. He is both a commercial hit and a critical darling. Across his movies, Hanks is thought to have amassed $10billion at the box office.
His first-ever role wouldn’t add up to much, though. Hanks picked up his first paycheque for acting with his first professional role as Grumio in William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, at a Great Lakes Theater production in 1977. The role would ignite Hanks’ love of acting, but it wouldn’t be for another three years that he would grab his first performance in a movie.
In 1980, Hanks grabbed his chance and got a minor role in the American psychological slasher film He Knows You’re Alone, directed by Armand Mastroianni. The picture is perhaps most well-known for being one of the first horror movies to be directly inspired by John Carpenter’s Halloween. It otherwise did very little for his career but gave him the first Hollywood acting credit.
What was Tom Hanks’ first lead role?
It would be four years in the wilderness before Tom Hanks would get another shot at a Hollywood production, however, this time, he would have a far bigger role and a far larger target to hit, as he signed on to play the lead in 1984’s Splash. Playing Allen, a man who falls in love with a mermaid, played by Daryl Hannah, Hanks would begin his charge to the top of the Hollywood pile with a typically affable performance.
Directed by Ron Howard, with whom Hanks would share a great friendship and professional relationship from thereon. It was because of Howard’s inclusion that Hanks believed he was offered the role. “Splash had been a romantic leading man role, the innocent, lovesick guy who falls in love with a fish,” Hanks noted. “A very well-rounded, wholesome movie… And the reason I got to do it was that a lot of big actors turned it down.”
The reaosn they turned it down was that Howard was also very new to the role of director: “If you were a big-name guy and got an offer for a movie directed by Mayberry’s Opie Taylor for Walt Disney, you weren’t going to leap at it.”
Splash was considered a hit upon release and garnered an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Screenplay’. Hanks deferred any credit he may have been afforded for that success: “I hadn’t done any movies yet. But I can’t take credit for the success of Splash and Bachelor Party being hits, other than having been in the right place at the right time and having got the job.”
