Tom Hanks: A Life in Pictures

Tom Hanks, legendary BAFTA-winning star of Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Toy Story shared how hit films capture “lightning in a bottle.”

So far Hanks has been nominated for three Leading Actor BAFTAs for his performances in Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away. In 2004, BAFTA Los Angeles awarded Hanks with the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.

He told a packed audience at a Life in Pictures event on 19 October 2013, that Forrest Gump is one character he’ll be associated with forever.

“[It was] like lightning in a bottle – Robert Zemeckis cracked some kind of code on that film,” he said.

Hanks joked that “when I go to someone’s house, they say ‘son of a gun – Forrest Gump is in my living room!’”

Read the full transcript in our media centre.

Nearly 30 years ago, Tom Hanks fell in love with a mermaid in Splash. In only his second film, his warm-hearted, charming and self-deprecating performance established the trademarks that made him one of Hollywood’s most successful and popular stars.

Since then, he’s played a range of memorable characters. From a boy who grows up too fast in Penny Marshall’s Big to a WWII Captain in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. Plus, he’s voiced everybody’s favourite toy cowboy Woody in the Toy Story series.

In romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, Hanks’ sensitive portrayal of Sam Baldwin, a grieving widow with a young son, highlighted his talent as a dramatic actor with a comic touch.

That flair allowed Hanks to consistently surprise audiences with his career choices. Whether that’s the quiet intensity he brings to Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition or in more light-hearted films like Larry Crowne, which Hanks directed.

Hanks will next be seen in Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips – playing Captain Richard Phillips in the true story of his ship’s hijack by Somali pirates. It’s proof that he continues to take on interesting and unique characters.

Hanks says that powerful storytelling is at the heart of all his best films.

“The fact is that you could probably learn the racket that is making movies fairly quickly, you know, marks and angles and stuff like that,” he said.

“But unless you have some sense of storytelling chops, you’ll never be able to do it.”

For more inspiring Life in Pictures stories from the world of film, games and TV explore our BAFTA News Stories section.