Tom Hanks is considered one of the greatest actors of his generation and has delivered some iconic films throughout his career. Hanks began his film career in the 1980s, gaining success later in the decade before becoming a superstar in the '90s, winning two consecutive Best Actor Academy Awards for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. Hanks' filmography has managed to find both great commercial success and award recognition, with many of his best films being classics that appeal to widespread audiences.

Tom Hanks has succeeded in both serious dramas and lighthearted comedies, making classic films in almost every genre. He's also known for his endearing off-screen personality, earning him recognition as one of Hollywood's most beloved movie stars. He's had frequent collaborations with Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Robert Zemeckis, four adventures as Woody in the Toy Story films, and has dipped into romantic comedies in some of Nora Ephron's best films.

10 Toy Story 3 (2010)

Tom Hanks Voiced Woody

Every addition to the main Toy Story saga has been fantastic, but Toy Story 3 captured the perfect mix of modern animation and emotional storytelling. The third installment is a masterpiece for all ages, touching on themes of nostalgia, growing up, and saying goodbye to childhood that perfectly resonated with viewers who had seen the first films as younger kids. The story sees Andy growing up and moving to college and the toys have to figure out what is next in their lives.

Tom Hanks brings Woody to life in every installment, helping transform the toy into one of the most well-developed and endearing animated characters in cinema. Most of the voice cast returned alongside Hanks, including Tim Allen as his partner Buzz Lightyear, and the movie won two Oscars in five nominations, including a rare instance where an animated film was also nominated for Best Picture.

9 Philadelphia (1993)

Tom Hanks Played Andrew Beckett

Pairing Tom Hanks with another legendary movie star like Denzel Washington is a recipe for success. Hanks has won two Oscars with six nominations while Washington won two Oscars with 10 nominations. Philadelphia tells an important and impactful story about discrimination, societal prejudices, and the seriousness of HIV/AIDS. Hanks is a a closeted gay man with AIDS whose employer finds a reason to fire him while Washington is the attorney representing him in the wrongful termination case.

The 1993 classic mixes legal drama with a tale about heartfelt human connections, bringing incredible performances out of its leads and earning Tom Hanks his first Oscar. His performance as Andrew Beckett offers a realistic glimpse at the physical and emotional toll of AIDS, and his transformation as he grows sicker is deeply moving and powerful. Add in a great ing cast including Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, and Joanne Woodward, and the film remains a masterpiece.

8 Cast Away (2000)

Tom Hanks Played Chuck Noland

Tom Hanks reunited with Robert Zemeckis for the 2000 film Cast Away, which sees the star as a man stranded alone on an island for years. Cast Away offers one of the most psychologically-driven Tom Hanks performances, allowing his talents to take center stage as he largely carries the movie on his own. The film is thrilling and visceral, conveying an emotionally resonant story of isolation and resilience that has captivated audiences for decades.

While most people talk about Hanks' performance as Forrest Gump when discussing the actor's work with Robert Zemeckis. However, his performance in Cast Away deserves mentioning, with Hanks spending almost all the movie acting by himself with only a volleyball to talk to. The performance earned Hanks an Oscar nomination, and he won Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama at the Golden Globes.

7 Sleepless In Seattle (1993)

Tom Hanks Played Sam Baldwin

Both Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail are excellent Tom Hanks rom-coms, but the former takes the edge as the better Nora Ephron film. Sleepless in Seattle is one of the best romantic comedies ever, telling a heart-warming tale of chance romance that builds up toward its final moment atop the Empire State Building. Hanks is Sam Baldwin, a widower whose eight-year-old son, Jonah, calls in to a radio talk show and convinces his dad to talk about how much he misses his wife.

The role of Sam Baldwin is one of Tom Hanks' most charming and likable...

The role of Sam Baldwin is one of Tom Hanks' most charming and likable, which says something for the set of characters he's played. It also showed how much of a connection he had with Meg Ryan, the rom-com queen of the 90s, and the two of them produced a love story for an entire generation.

6 A League Of Their Own (1992)

Tom Hanks Played Jimmy Dugan

The early '90s was a great era for sports films, with the all-female baseball team movie A League of Their Own standing out as one of the best and most unique. Tom Hanks plays coach Jimmy Dugan, bringing humor and heart as he grows from being apathetic to having genuine affection for the team. However, this movie is about the women who carry on the name of baseball while the men are fighting in World War II, with Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, and Lori Petty in the lead roles.

In 2012, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

In a film about the strength of women in a male-dominated field, Hanks plays a fantastic ing role that shows why audiences adore him so much. He was also smart enough to allow every woman in the film to overshadow him, which is how it should be. In 2012, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

5 The Green Mile (1999)

Tom Hanks Played Paul Edgecomb

The Green Mile is one of the darkest entries in Tom Hanks' filmography, making it a rare and exciting stand-out. The 1999 film is adapted from a Stephen King novel and directed by The Shawshank Redemption's Frank Darabont, making for an exciting, talented team behind the project. The Green Mile tells a captivating tale about redemption and empathy, with Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan giving unbelievable performances.

Hanks' Paul Edgecomb is one of the actor's most complex roles, wrestling with ideas of justice and comion. The film offers up the story of a man wrongly accused of murder, but it is not about revealing the truth, instead, The Green Mile is about finding redemption, even in the face of death. Often overshadowed by Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption, this movie still earned four Oscar nominations, and it remains one of King's best adaptations.

4 Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Tom Hanks Played Carl Hanratty

Catch Me If You Can is one of the best films from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg's collaborations. Based on a true story, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Frank Abagnale Jr., a man who starting pulling off several cons from the time he was a teenager and didn't end up getting caught until six years later. Hanks stars as FBI Agent Carl Hanratty, playing the obsessive and persistent lawman who's the perfect foil for Leo's charming Frank.

Catch Me If You Can is a tale of deception and pursuit, making it a rare find in Tom Hanks' filmography that almost never contains anything in the crime genre.

The movie is based on the book of the same name, written by Abagnale himself and published in 1980. Catch Me If You Can is a tale of deception and pursuit, making it a rare find in Tom Hanks' filmography that almost never contains anything in the crime genre. Christopher Walken was nominated for Best ing Actor, playing Frank Abagnale Sr., while John Williams picked up an Oscar nomination for his musical score.

3 Apollo 13 (1995)

Tom Hanks Played Commander Jim Lovell

Based on the events of the real space mission of the same name, Apollo 13 is a disaster film set in space. Directed by another of Hanks' frequent collaborators, the Ron Howard drama offers a gripping portrayal of a real-life crisis that captured the minds of Americans for decades. Apollo 13 is well-regarded for its attention to detail, involving NASA in helping to create as realistic an adaptation of space travel as possible.

Hanks plays the role of Commander Jim Lovell, one of the more nuanced characters in his filmography and also one of the many Tom Hanks roles based on real people. The film picked up nine Oscar nominations, but it only won two (Best Film Editing, Best Sound). The film lost Best Picture to Braveheart, while Hanks was not nominated for Best Actor in the Ensemble Picture. Despite the lack of award wins, The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2023.

2 Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Tom Hanks Played John H. Miller

Saving Private Ryan is one of the greatest war films ever made and is one of the best projects in Tom Hanks' career. It's his first collaboration with Steven Spielberg as the director, who had also made the World War II film Schindler's List in the same decade. Saving Private Ryan examines the war from a different perspective, telling a story of heroism and valor as Captain John Miller leads his soldiers to rescue the titular Private Ryan, exploring the horrific violence of the war.

Many war films have followed, but the 1998 classic still remains one of the most well-known in the genre. The film went on to win Spielberg the award for Best Director, but it was shockingly defeated in the Best Picture race by Shakespeare in Love, one of the biggest upsets in Oscars history. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2014 as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Hanks and Spielberg went on to work on four more movies together.

1 Forrest Gump (1994)

Tom Hanks Played Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is the most beloved Tom Hanks movie, with his iconic performance as the titular character being his most memorable and endearing role. The 1994 classic follows the life of Forrest through varying chapters in his extraordinary fictional life, from the Vietnam War to his involvement in the Watergate Scandal. Robert Zemeckis worked wonders with CGI and motion capture by taking classic newsreel footage and adding Forrest through computer trickery in a way that always seemed authentic.

Not only did Tom Hanks win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but Forrest Gump also won the Best Picture prize, solidifying it as one of the greatest and most recognizable films of all time. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2011, just 17 years after it was released into theaters to great acclaim.