Tom Hanks is full of surprises, and here are 10 proofs of it (11 photos)

Tom Hanks is one of the most reliable and "profitable" actors in the world. the world. Does that mean it's predictable? Definitely not! Here is just a small part of the unexpected facts from the life of a star.





1. Hanks is the head of the US National Space Society


Thanks to Apollo 13 (1995), Hanks finally fulfilled his childhood dream of putting on a spacesuit and going to stars ... Well, almost fulfilled. However, children's love for space is not on this dried up, and soon Hanks became one of the members of the NSS Board of Governors (US National Space Society). In general, it is not surprising to whom else to entrust such a responsible matter, if not "celebrities, most trusted in America," as Forbes called him in 2006.

2 He Almost Missed The Role Of Forrest Gump





If everything had turned out a little differently, and we would not have seen the legendary Hanks' acting in one of the best films of all time; after all Initially, John Travolta was seriously considered for the role of Gump. But the stars did not agree - the actor has already set his sights on "Pulp Fiction", which in eventually came out the same year as Forrest Gump. In conversation with MTV about the roles, which he turned down, Travolta said, "I'm glad I gave up some of them because they launched other people's careers." This Definitely about Hanks!

3. The first of April is International Tom Hanks Day. Seriously!



Forget the fart pillows and the white back - the first April is supposed to be celebrated by watching "Saving Private Ryan" and "Catch me if you can" because it's officially Tom Hanks Day!

Kevin Turk, one of the founders of the holiday, admitted that it all started by chance: in 2004, as a student, together with classmates "stumbled upon a Tom Hanks film marathon on Fool." The idea to honor Hanks in this way caught on, and the guys began promote her. What started out as easy fun is now turned into a coordinated international event, revenues from which go to Hanks' favorite charities.

4. He is a descendant of Abraham Lincoln



There really is something subtly presidential about Hanks. so it is almost no wonder (but only almost) that he is related by blood ties with former US President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln was the 5th generation great-grandmother of Tom Hanks. However, even taking into account their relationship, Hanks considered himself unworthy to play this great man and turned down a role in Stephen's Lincoln Spielberg in 2012, which was eventually taken on by Daniel Day-Lewis.

5. ...and a distant relative of Mr. Rogers



A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) Movie Moved Viewers behind the scenes of the iconic children's show hosted by the incomparable Mr. Rogers. He was played by Tom Hanks, and it’s better not to think of a casting - after all they are relatives!

Ancestry.com found that Hanks and Rogers are "seven cousins", and their common ancestor was Johannes Meffert, and their subsequent ancestors bore the surname Mefford. Ironically, Hanks I found out about it when I started filming.

6. He collects typewriters



Hanks's interest in old typewriters, of which he the collection is already several hundred, only gives it charm - according to actor, these cars hold the keys to happiness. In a documentary California Typewriter (2017) Hanks describes the typewriter as "very a specific apparatus designed for just one task, and it does it perfectly."

7. Tom Hanks writes books



In 2017, Hanks released his first collection of short stories, Russian translation called "A unique copy: Stories about about that." Critics warmly welcomed the collection, and already in 2023 Hanks released a novel called “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture". Now we know exactly what the actor will do when he decides to go out on retire!

8. Asteroids named after Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan



Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were the main stars of the rom-coms of the 90s, so no wonder NASA named two asteroids after them, 12818 Tomhanks and 8353 Megryan. Interestingly, in September 2011, “there was a cosmic rendezvous when they got as close as possible to Earth.”

9. Hanks was so excited about the divorce that he turned down a role in When Harry Met Sally.



Hanks and Ryan could star in three cult films romantic comedies by Nora Ephron: after Sleepless in Seattle and You letter" she began work on the script "When Harry Met Sally directed by Rob Reiner. Of course, the main role was considered Hanks, but he just couldn't get the feel for the character. About this later his wife Rita Wilson said: “Many people probably don’t know this, but Tom was offered to do When Harry Met Sally and he turned it down. because he was just getting divorced and was very glad that he was no longer married. And so he could not understand that a person going through a divorce can be any other emotion than “How happy I am!”.

10 He Changed Religion For Rita Wilson



Tom Hanks' second wife is actress Rita Wilson. They are married for over thirty years and are considered one of Hollywood's most beloved couples. And not in vain, because Hanks went to great lengths for the sake of his future wife - even He renounced his faith and converted to Greek Orthodoxy. Interestingly, in In 2002, he even produced the popular comedy My Big Greek wedding.