Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: Tom Hanks on how being average helped him become successful
After beginning his acting career in the early 1980s, Tom Hanks gradually grew from strength to strength, with several small roles leading up to his early breakthrough in Penny Marsh’s 1988 fantasy comedy, Big. Approaching the 1990s, Hanks began to have top-flight directors knocking on his door as the go-to leading man. Though he has never been typecast, Hanks has earned a reputation for playing stoic, amiable characters.
A heart-wrenching appearance as AIDS victim Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia opposite Denzel Washington in 1993 and the following year as the loveable Forrest Gump saw Hanks win his only two Academy Awards to date, both for ‘Best Actor’. In this incredible feat, he became the second actor, behind Spencer Tracy, to have ever won two consecutive ‘Best Actor’ Oscars.
Though we deem these Oscar wins Hanks’ career peak, some would argue that the best was very much still in store. Maintaining momentum through the 1990s and beyond, Hanks took on leading roles, appearing in a broad range of celebrated movies, from Toy Story and Saving Private Ryan to Bridge of Spies and Captain Phillips thereafter. A particularly prolific period in the late 1990s and early 2000s could be deemed another peak in Hanks’ career.
Although Hanks puts his success down to a heap of luck and hard graft, he also credits his ability to learn from mistakes. “You learn more from the things that don’t work out than the things that do. I worked harder on [1989’s]Turner & Hooch than I did on 80 per cent of the films I’ve made,” he once revealed. Where others become disheartened in failure, Hanks is practical and seeks out opportunities to strengthen his weak areas and cater to his strengths.
While some stars, such as Johnny Depp and Margot Robbie, might have attracted some of their significant roles partially due to their striking, stand-out looks, Hanks attributes his success to looking intensely ordinary. Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in a past interview, Hanks revealed that his major advantage early in his career was self-confidence.
“Before you go into what is essentially a competition, you have to have that confidence,” he said. “You have to ask yourself, ‘Are they looking for a guy my height? My age? I’ve got a shot.'”
Hanks pointed out that attractive people are overrepresented in the movie business. Since most people in the world, and hence, many characters, have average dimensions, Hanks could fit the everyman role perfectly. “If there are nine guys auditioning, and they’re all gorgeous, I have an advantage because gorgeous guys are a dime a dozen,” he explained.
Adding: “But if they need someone else—like a goofy guy with bad hair who is just okay—then that’s me.”
Hanks is by no means an unattractive man. However, beneath his humble words was an ounce of truth in that he might have found it difficult to compete with the traditional leading man. Throughout Hollywood’s golden age, the typical leading male would have endearing dimples and a jawline like an anvil; just look at Cary Grant, James Stewart and Marlon Brando.
Fortunately for Hanks, Hollywood was less preoccupied with handsome profiles by the late 1980s and 1990s, providing him with an opportunity. Still, he understood that if he was to stand out from the crowd, he couldn’t rely on his outward appearance; he needed charm and confidence. “Because the majority of people in the world are not gorgeous,” he told Oprah. “I’ve always known that, gee, I’m going to have to be charming to make this happen because my looks don’t do it.”
