Toy Story 5 played into the idea that everyone’s favorite cowboy doll Woody is getting older — showcased best by his blindingly reflective bald spot — alongside not only the franchise’s fanbase, but also the iconic actor who’s voiced the role for the past 30 years. But I don’t think we can blame aging on the fact that Tom Hanks was apparently clueless that entire time about Woody having a last name.

The character, who wasn’t originally written into the fifth movie, is as beloved as Pixar and Disney characters get, but I can’t deny how easy it is to totally miss out on the lawman’s moniker amounting to more than just the five letters composing his first name. So I won’t be the first one to judge Hanks for being out of the loop, especially since his reaction to the news is so danged funny to watch, as seen below.

When presented with the new-to-him information that Woody isn’t just a single-named entertainer like Cher or Madonna, he was surprised, and offered up maybe the world’s best guess for what Woody’s surname might be.

Is "The Sheriff" a single last name in the vein of De Niro or Del Toro, or is "The" meant to be Woody's middle name there? Either way, a classic response from the acting legend.

As was this display of incredulity after learning that Woody's last name is actually "Pride." To which he responded with:

While this didn't get addressed within that interview from BBC Radio, Woody's full name was initially revealed by Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich, who stated at the time that the identifier had been a discussed and established detail since the development phases on 1995's Toy Story. So it wasn't just something tacked onto the character years later. (Toy Story 5's most emotional sequence plays into name-based reveals, so this interview clip feels pretty on-point for the sequel.)

More fun was had when the topic came up that Jessie's last name is also Pride, which has sparked plenty of internet fan theories about how closely the two characters are related. That was something that Tim Allen said he'd come across online in the past, noting that he'd seen fans talking about Woody and Jessie being brother and sister.

Turns out Tom Hanks doesn't want the two toys to be that closely linked. As he put it:

If the sibling bit is true, it wouldn’t change anything TOO much, and isn’t nearly as bothersome as it’d be to learn that Buzz and Jessie share the same bloodline. Or that Forky and Karen Beverly are related. Oh wait, that one might track...can plastic utensils be related?

Another more pertinent question: can Toy Story 5 continue its box office dominance into its second week in theaters, or will the upcoming DC movie Supergirl push it down to #2? [Cue Smarty Pants cracking up.]

Toy Story 5 has finally arrived, and it has quite a bit to offer fans. Not only will franchise devotees get to revisit with the core characters play by most of the OG voice cast, but the Taylor Swift has a new single for the sequel! There was a lot of secrecy surrounding that new track, which is called "I Knew It, I Knew You" and, per Tim Allen, the cast even found out in a unique way. What makes Allen's story about that particularly funny, though, are the humorously endearing cranky old man vibes that accompany it.

To provide some context first, though, Toy Story 5 director Andrew Stanton initially debunked rumors that Taylor Swift had an end credits song. Swifties were not convinced, though, especially when a “TS” billboard was exposed with a lyric caption from Swift’s “Shake It Off.” Ultimately, the film's original song was confirmed when a Toy Story-themed countdown clock appeared on Swift's official website on June 1st.

It's unclear exactly when Allen and co. learned about the Swift news for himself amid that timeline. The actor and comedian recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (as shared to Instagram), where he recalled the moment someone first attempted to tell him the Grammy winner would be involved with the 2026 movie schedule release, and it's too funny:

I love that! I mean, come on, Tim Allen, TS! The Swifties out there know who that is. I find it absolutely hilarious that the Home Improvement star didn’t catch on to the meaning of the coded initials and came back to Toy Story. But I’ve got to say, it’s a funny coincidence that the “Love Story” singer shares the same initials as the famed Pixar franchise, and that did help maintain a level of ambiguity amid the marketing.

Allen didn't specify exactly who tried to tell him and Hanks about Taylor Swift's involvement, though I'm thinking it was probably a media rep, or maybe it was marketing exec. Regardless, I'm chuckling, because Allen was seemingly thrown for a loop before realizing the truth:

Taylor Swift crafting a song for a Toy Story movie is huge, so I can understand the level of scrutiny. As so many of her songs already sound like they belong in a Toy Story movie, she's the perfect fit for the film. “I Knew It, I Knew You,” is all about reuniting with an old friend, with distance never allowing that person to ever leave their heart. The tune also ties into the film's subplot of Jessie the Cowgirl missing her first owner, Emily. Fan reactions to T. Swift’s song have also been positive.

Someone else who's been high on Swift's involvement is Tom Hanks, and he revealed to Variety at the L.A. premiere of the Disney flick that he didn’t know Taylor Swift recorded the song until hours before it dropped:

I'd say that Tom Hanks was right there with Tim Allen in regard to giving off cranky old man energy, which I love. Still, it's also great that since the two were alerted to Taylor Swift's involvement, they've expressed excitement. There were even gracious enough to sign Swift's VHS copy of the OG film at the premiere. If anything, this seems to prove that the power of Swift knows no bounds, even when it comes to seasoned celebrities who can be cranky at times.

Make sure to catch Toy Story 5 in theaters now, and feel free to check out other movies in the Disney+ subscription.

It’s hard to believe it’s been over 15 years since Toy Story 3 came out and emotionally wrecked audiences. Like so many people, I’ll never forget how the movie perfectly capped off the story of a bunch of toys and their person, Andy, as he officially leaves childhood behind and goes off to college. It was the perfect ending for the franchise, but then a fourth movie came out, and now Toy Story 5 is the latest upcoming Disney movie on the way. Is the franchise officially past calling it quits now?

I decided to ask Andrew Stanton this very question: Will Toy Story ever reach a final conclusion? He's been a creative voice behind the scenes on every Toy Story movie and is the director behind the latest, and he says the nature of toys is that they can be passed along, at least for a good while.

So, as long as audiences turn up for a new Toy Story movie and the creatives over at Pixar continue to be inspired by the property, we’re not going to have to say farewell to this franchise. For how long? As his Toy Story 5 co-writer Kenna Harris added:

Pixar made an all-time great trilogy with the first three Toy Story movies, but as Andrew Stanton has said to haters of future Toy Story sequels: “nobody’s being robbed of their trilogy” and they don’t have to watch more if they don’t want to. Since Toy Story 3, they’ve found a way to continue the storyline through their move to Bonnie's room. I'm also happy to hear this movie in particular is already booming with positive reviews (save one) from critics who are calling it “a smart examination of evolving technology and its effect on children." It's "heart" and "conviction" are also being called out in reviews.

It’s certainly not easy or common for a movie to reach five films, and it's especially surprising to do this many with such high acclaim. Yet,Toy Story keeps proving its capable because the Pixar creatives keep finding new ways to keep these iconic characters around and expand the world of toys they’ve built.

This time around, the movie finally gives Jessie the center stage to explore her origins (and has added a sweet new Taylor Swift track to go along with it). In our interview with Tom Hanks, he got candid about being hesitant about Toy Story 5 before he learned the concept behind the movie. The animated flick tackles how technology is affecting children growing up nowadays.

I’m so curious about how Pixar will go from here after this new installment. Or will this one be the last after all? Either way, I personally find it nice that it's been kicking around for thirty years and new films get to be enjoyed by other generations. I wonder if I'll feel the same way in my old age if Toy Story 24 comes out.

You can see Toy Story 5 for yourself when it hits theaters this Friday, June 19.

Whether or not you were as hesitant as Tom Hanks about another Toy Story, it’s hard to deny the excitement that a new story featuring Buzz, Woody and Jessie brings. Toy Story 5 is hitting the 2026 movie calendar more than 30 years after the original, and I honestly can’t say I’m surprised that critics are giving the newest installment a big thumbs up. There’s always one detractor, though, isn’t there? Let’s take a look at Toy Story 5 reviews and see what people like (and don’t like) about the animated flick.

The newest chapter sees the return of all of our favorite voices — Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Tony Hale, etc. — as well as some exciting new additions including Conan O’Brien, Greta Lee, Craig Robinson, Bad Bunny and Alan Cumming. The new toys are exciting, as our old friends will see competition from Bonnie’s high-tech devices. Germain Lussier of Gizmodo says Toy Story 5 exceeds expectations as a more-than-welcome addition to the franchise:

David Ehrlich of IndieWire grades the movie a B+, boldly calling it the “best Pixar sequel since 1999.” Conan O’Brien’s role voicing the Smarty Pants potty training device is “one of the funniest voice performance roles in Pixar history,” but the movie’s biggest message is one that’s going to affect every parent in the theater. Ehrlich says:

Brian Truitt of USA TODAY rates it 3 stars out of 4, saying Jessie really steps forward into the lead role of this movie, embarking on a journey of self-discovery that’s even more engaging than Woody and Buzz’s battle against the screens back home. This critic also mentions that Conan O’Brien was born to play the role of Smarty Pants, delivering both potty humor and character depth. Overall, it’s another successful outing for Disney/Pixar, Truitt says, writing:

David Rooney of THR says in his Toy Story 5 review that it’s hard to resist the movie’s captivating sweetness as it delivers a message about screentime that can always bear repeating. Rooney writes:

The family friendly film is already Certified Fresh with 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. So if you’re wondering what’s going on with that leftover 6%, I present to you Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian. His review of Toy Story 5 gives it just 2 out of 5 stars, and the issue seems to be with the redemption of some of the tech toys, as mentioned in the previous review. Bradshaw says:

If you want to form your own opinion on the Toy Story universe’s take on screens vs. physical play, you don’t have to wait long now! The upcoming Disney movie is set to hit theaters on Friday, June 19. In the meantime you can also catch up on the previous movies in the franchise, which are available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.

The toys of the Toy Story movies may be there until the end of the line for Andy and Bonnie, but how about the voice actors behind them? Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are Woody and Buzz, but is there a future where they won’t be? Luckily, there isn’t one right now, but Hanks did get honest about asking “why” they should do Toy Story 5.

When CinemaBlend’s own Jeff McCobb sat down with the stars of Toy Story who’ve been voicing these characters since the original movie 30 years ago, Hanks commented on his initial reaction to reprising the role of Woody for the fifth movie. Check out the exchange (also in the video clip above):

Tom Hanks: “In all honesty, when they say, ‘Would you like to do another Toy Story?’ My question was, ‘Well, why? What are you going to talk about?’ And Andrew [Stanton] had the thing of, ‘Well, we're sort of going to take on tech because Bonnie now has a device.’ ‘Got it!’”

Tim Allen: “And really low key. You go wow!”

Tom Hanks: “All the writers and producers are, you know, preoccupied with other stuff that's going on. They just kind of give us the bare bones.”

Very few franchises get to the fifth film and retain the quality of the original movie. And sometimes, it even leads to cast members who started with the leading characters being swapped out because it’s no longer what it used to be. When Hanks was first approached for Toy Story 5, it sounds like he wasn’t totally sure about another one, but then he was quickly grabbed by the concept.

Toy Story 5 follows the toys, previously of Andy’s room, as they navigate Bonnie getting a tablet named Lilypad. When the tech device starts to demand all her attention, the toys start to freak out about an impending doom where they are stored away in a box collecting dust in the garage, and Jessie tries to fix things. You can check out the latest Toy Story 5 trailer below:

The latest of the upcoming Disney movies tackles a timely concept of how screen time is not only affecting young children these days, but everyone. It totally makes sense why Tom Hanks and Tim Allen would instantly be drawn in to return to their iconic characters thanks to some ingenuity by the Pixar filmmakers. They've also clearly built years of trust after all the great Toy Story movies.

In addition to Toy Story 5 tackling technology, it also gives Jessie a central plotline she never got to have before. In a previous interview with the Toy Story 5 filmmakers, director Andrew Stanton told us that the first draft for the sequel didn’t include Woody at all. However, he missed the cowboy in the mix, and he felt like it would make sense for Jessie to ask for help from the toy even if he’s enjoying a retirement elsewhere with Bo.

Toy Story 5 had its world premiere last week, and first reactions to the fifth Toy Story are calling it a “genuine home run”, “deeply profound” and “top tier.” You can see it yourself in theaters starting this Friday, June 19.

The 2026 movie schedule is about to deliver a major new film, given the impending release of Toy Story 5. Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the whole gang are back for another chapter, and fans are as excited as ever. Among the excited fans is Taylor Swift, who's also contributing music to the movie. Those who need proof of her fandom only need to know that she her VHS tape of the original 1995 film to be signed by Tom Hanks and co., though I can't tell if that's sweeter than Hanks’ response.

After the movie’s director debunked theories that Swift has an end credits song, she officially confirmed she’d written and performed new song for the film, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which was released last week. Swift has shared that she’s loved the Toy Story films ever since she was little, and her childhood dreams seemingly came true when she attended the recent premiere. Check out a photo of the Grammy winner (and massive Toy Story fan) having her VHS tape signed by the whole cast:

As someone who has Toy Story on VHS, I love that Swift decided to bring her copy to the premiere. And I love that even with her mega superstar status, she’s not afraid to fangirl, as evidenced by her reaction to *NSYNC at the VMAs. I can imagine her living her best life at the premiere, and not just because she got to sing with the Randy Newman once inside the theater. Hanks, who is back as Sheriff Woody in Toy Story 5, also shared his reaction to Swift’s request on the red carpet while speaking with USA Today, and I’m melting:

Since Toy Story has been around since the ‘90s, I wouldn't be surprised if Hanks as signed plenty of other VHS tapes of the film over the years, and I'd bet Swift's won't be the last. I also love the Oscar winner's quip about Swift needing to have brought a VCR to the premiere instead. Hanks may have been joking, but I can surely imagine a signed player being displayed in a museum.

As for the Toy Story and Taylor Swift, fans had been speculating for months that some kind of collaboration was in the works. In April, a false countdown started on Swift’s official website with the Toy Story clouds in the background, but nothing ever happened.

The countdown was eventually brought back last week, when the official announcement for her new single was made. The reactions to “I Knew It, I Knew You” have been positive, as fans are taken back to Swift’s country days. All in all, it definitely sounds like a song made for a Toy Story soundtrack. In addition to that, I couldn't be happier for Swift that she was able to get her tape sign, and this moment further proves just how relatable the star can be.

Fans can check out Toy Story 5 -- complete with Taylor Swift's song -- when it hits theaters on June 19. In the meantime, check out the first five movies using a Disney+ subscription.

Obviously, the core toys of Toy Story make these movies so incredibly special. However, the world is also so wonderful because of all the other unique toys that pop up during Buzz, Woody and co.’s adventures. For example, there’s one G.I. Joe-like doll who has shown up a few times, and he has become quite an iconic character. To make him even more legendary, Tom Hanks recalled a story that revealed how he was involved with the naming of this toy.

In the first Toy Story (which you can stream with a Disney+ subscription), the toys all gather around the window and see Sid explode a G.I. Joe-like doll. His name is “Combat Carl,” which Woody states as they look out the window. Since they couldn’t use the name of the real military doll in the movie, they had to come up with something new, and it turns out Tom Hanks was the one to coin the name “Combat Carl,” as he explained to Disney Studios UK ahead of Toy Story 5’s release on the 2026 movie schedule:

Considering Toy Story came out over 30 years ago, and Combat Carl has continued to pop up in projects across the franchise, Hanks should be proud of himself.

After his brief appearance (and explosion) in Toy Story, Combat Carl returned in a big way for the special Toy Story OF TERROR! That’s when the late great Carl Weathers took over the character (and the character of Combat Carl Jr.).

Following that special, Weathers returned to voice the Combat Carls in Toy Story 4. In that movie (which I thought was a great idea, by the way), Woody and Bo Peep run into a trio of Combat Carls dressed for different military functions. They give a lot of high-fives and are very thrilled about a party happening at the park, because it means there will be kids there who will play with them.

It was a fun way to have the character come back, and it was an awesome reference back to both Toy Story OF TERROR! and the original Toy Story. I bet it also made Tom Hanks happy to see the character he helped name back in the story.

Now, in Toy Story 5, we’ll get to see Combat Carl once again. However, this time, Ernie Hudson will be voicing the iconic toy.

Overall, I love that this character keeps coming back. It makes sense too; he’s so gosh-darn fun. Personally, I love this character who always talks in the third-person and loves to give a high-five. And I’m so excited to see how he is incorporated into the next adventure.

So, everyone say thank you to Tom Hanks for his hand in helping Combat Carl come to life. Now, to see both Woody and Combat Carl in action, you can catch Toy Story 5 in theaters starting June 19.

Since the Toy Story movies have been coming out now for over three decades, it wouldn’t necessarily be surprising if Woody and Buzz turned things over to a new generation of toys – especially Woody after he literally left Bonnie’s room at the end of Toy Story 4. But thankfully, both characters are back in action for Toy Story 5, which is among 2026 movies hitting theaters this summer. But, I recently found out from the movie’s writer/director Andrew Stanton that this wasn’t always the case for Woody.

Toy Story 5 has Woody reuniting with our favorite toys, bald spot and all, and of course, is once again voiced by Tom Hanks. During CinemaBlend's interview with the Toy Story 5 filmmakers, Stanton said this about the return of Woody:

Toy Story 5 follows the toys of Bonnie’s room, who were given to her by Andy during the emotional ending of Toy Story 3, as they face a new problem among them. Bonnie is given a tablet named Lilypad that steals all of her attention away, and the rest of the toys are stressed about it. Jessie, who has assumed the leadership position of Bonnie’s room, gets in contact with her buddy Woody to talk out the problem, and it leads to him joining in on another thrilling and fun animated adventure.

An emergency in Bonnie’s room totally makes sense as a way for the audience to see Woody again, but as Stanton told us, at first, he wrote Toy Story 5 without the cowboy at all. However, as he continued to work on additional drafts, he decided he missed Woody and found a way to add him to the upcoming sequel. As he continued:

While Woody definitely plays a big part in Toy Story 5, there’s a lot more focus on Jessie (still played by Joan Cusack as well) than we’ve ever seen of her before, too. The movie even involves the cowgirl riding on a real horse and getting to visit her previous room. There she meets Conan O’Brien’s hilarious potty training toy, among many other fun surprises I’ll keep to myself for now. Producer Lindsay Collins added this:

The first look at Toy Story 5 did feature Woody briefly, but the latest look definitely gives fans a much better look at how the dynamics in the movie look, and Tom Hanks’ iconic character is definitely a big part of it. You can check out the Toy Story 5 trailer below:

I don’t know about you, but I’m so curious how Toy Story 5 will tackle the issue of toys vs. tech, and forward these characters we know and love. You can see it in theaters on June 19.

For generations, kids have grown up with the Toy Story movies, and many can likely quickly tell you that Tom Hanks is the voice of Woody. The Castaway actor first lent his voice to this character back in 1995. Now, he’s set to reprise the role a fifth time, when Toy Story 5 is released in theaters this summer as part of the 2026 movie schedule. However, I just found out that Tom Hanks was not the only sheriff in town. His brother Jim Hanks occasionally voiced Woody for Disney, and his first time doing it was for an iconic moment.

Several of Tom Hanks’ best films came out in the ‘90s alongside Toy Story, like Saving Private Ryan, Sleepless in Seattle, and Forrest Gump. So while Toy Story was a smash hit, he didn’t always have the time to do extra voice work for the series. Luckily, the Big actor had the perfect built-in voice-double. His younger brother Jim Hanks is also an actor and filmmaker, and the two look and sound nearly identical, even more so back in the day. Jim told Love-It Film he’s been voicing the iconic cowboy alongside his brother since the early days, revealing how he's able to match the You’ve Got Mail actor's performance:

For the actual Toy Story movies, the voice of Woody is Tom Hanks. The Sully actor has been in the recording booth for all four installments of the franchise thus far, and teased he’s once again back in Disney Pixar’s Studio B, laying down lines for Toy Story 5.

I can’t believe the Toy Story series has been going for 31 years and counting, and neither can its cast. The original Toy Story was a hit when it came out in 1995, and became the first feature film to be made entirely with computer animation. As much as it was a big deal for Disney, it was also right smack in the middle of the most successful stretch of Tom Hanks' career. His only two Oscars happened in the same years they were making Toy Story, one in 1994 for Philadelphia, and one in 1995 for Forrest Gump.

Needless to say, Tom Hanks was booked and busy, but Disney was desperate to capitalize on the success of Woody. Jim Hanks revealed that most of his work as Andy’s favorite toy is for commercial efforts, and that the first time he ever put on the cowboy hat was to voice Woody’s signature catchphrases for the physical doll to be sold on shelves:

Wow, I can’t believe one of the most iconic uses of Woody’s voice is actually Jim Hanks. Basically, anything that’s not a part of the feature-length Toy Story films, Woody is voiced by the youngest Hanks brother. Hear Woody on an attraction at Disneyland? Jim Hanks. Woody appears in a commercial on TV? Jim Hanks! He even voices Woody in all of Disney Pixar’s Toy Story Shorts, including 2020’s Lamp Life.

I honestly have never noticed the difference, and I bet most fans haven’t either, which just goes to show how fantastic an actor Jim Hanks is. At the end of the day, he actually has more credits as Woody than the Apollo 13 actor. Go figure! However, the younger Hanks doesn’t seem to mind that Tom Hanks gets all the cred for the sheriff–he just seems happy to be a part of the journey.

What a journey it has been, too. Many fans thought Toy Story 4 brought a perfect end to Woody’s story, as he rode off into the sunset with Bo Peep and the lost toys. Yet Tom Hanks has been confirmed to return with his buddy Tim Allen for the upcoming sequel. Be sure to catch Toy Story 5 when it hits theaters on June 19 to see all your favorite toys back in action.

Toy Story 5 is only weeks away from making its debut as part of the 2026 movie schedule, which means fans are close to reuniting with the franchise’s lovable characters. At least one of those famous toys will look a bit different when they show up again, however, as Woody will have gone through a few changes. In the Andrew Stanton-helmed film, the famous cowboy will not only have a bald spot but a gut as well. Now, Tom Hanks – who voices the beloved pull-string doll – is answering a question I’d had about the design.

I actually had the opportunity to speak with Stanton about the response to Woody’s bald spot but wasn’t able to ask about the more practical reason for it. What I’ve specifically wanted to know is exactly what causes the top of Woody’s head to become faded in-universe and, after his gut was revealed, I had the same question. Well, Hanks talked about his character’s new look as part of a piece for EW. During the chat, the fan-favorite actor shared his take on what exactly has caused the cowboy’s dome to fade:

This seems so obvious in hindsight but, to be completely honest, I never really considered the notion of the constant removal of Woody’s hat being the reason for his bald spot. A part of me wondered if it was just fading on its own over time due to other factors. That aside, the gut aspect of all of this may have seemed like an even bigger mystery to some fans. Well, Hanks and co. have thought of that as well and, again, the answer is quite practical:

Ever since I read that latter quote, I’ve been trying to recall whether I had any stuffed toys as a kid that settled in such ways. Nothing comes to mind right now, though the rationale here definitely makes sense. On the surface, these cosmetic changes to Woody can definitely be played for laughs, but they also represent the passage of time. That notion really hits hard for someone like, who’s old enough to have seen Toy Story 2 in theaters during their childhood. On that note, what this franchise continues to prove is that it can grow with its audience and remain timely at the same time.

Speaking of timely, Toy Story 5 sees Bonnie’s toys facing the rise of technological devices, which are beginning to permeate playtime. That prospect is seemingly what causes Woody to reunite with Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye and the gang. Based on the footage that’s been revealed thus far, this could be a somewhat darker entry in the franchise. At the same time, though, there still seems to be plenty of comedy, and the TS5 trailer also teased some sweet nods to the earlier films.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the toys end up thriving within the age of tech. Aside from watching the story play out, though, I’ll admittedly also remain focused on Woody’s bald spot and gut. I’m curious as to whether the character just keeps those imperfections or fixes them using a magic marker and some stuffing shuffling techniques.

Toy Story 5 opens in theaters on June 19 and, in the meantime, fans can watch the first four movies using a Disney+ subscription.

I get it, trust me, I do, I understand that You’ve Got Mail is considered one of the best rom-coms and one of the best movies of the ‘90s, and I, too, adore Nora Ephron with my entire heart and soul. However, I have to be honest, I do not like this movie. I wanted to. I tried really hard, and the majority of it was wonderful. However, the ending of this classic ruined it for me, and we need to talk about why.

I Thought You’ve Got Mail Was Going To Be A 5-Star Film

I’ve always known that You’ve Got Mail is highly rewatchable, and I agree that Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks should work together again because of their palpable chemistry that’s on display in this. And for the majority of this film, I loved it. I was so into this enemies-to-lovers storyline that was mixed with this online anonymous relationship that said enemies were in.

Plus, every time Hanks and Ryan were on screen together, their chemistry jumped off the screen. So, as I was watching this film with my Netflix subscription, I thought it'd become a new favorite rom-com.

However…that all changed during the final 20-ish minutes of the movie.

Then I Watched I Watched The End Of You’ve Got Mail, And It Ruined It

Things started to go downhill when The Shop Around the Corner went out of business.

I’m sorry, but I would not be with a man who ran the company that put my dream out of business and didn’t do anything to stop it. Joe Fox just let it happen. If he loved Kathleen, I believe he should have done something to help keep her dream alive. Also, once they became proper friends, and Kathleen told him about her online discussion with a man (who is Joe), it took him too long to tell her he was the guy she was talking with. He let that go on for way too long, and it felt weird.

Meanwhile, if I were Kathleen, I would have put up more of a fight. She kind of just let it happen. She did tell him that this situation was “personal,” and she got mad at him for what happened with the stores. Then, they became friends. But that was before she knew that Joe Fox was also her crush from the internet.

So, after all that, when she found out her online friend was Joe, she immediately accepted it and was like, “I wanted it to be you so badly.” Then, they kissed, and the movie ended.

Excuse me! But there’s still a lot to unpack here. Joe put Kathleen out of business, and then he kept this secret from her for quite a while. Capitalism won, and lies of omission were accepted. Sorry, but that’s not the ending I want to this story. Therefore, yeah, the final moments of You’ve Got Mail did ruin the entire movie for me. And no, I will not be watching it 152 more times.

As we look forward to Toy Story 5's premiere on the 2026 movie schedule, it’s wild to think about how long the Pixar franchise has been going on. And, when Tom Hanks and Tim Allen turned up together at Las Vegas’ CinemaCon on Thursday to talk about the latest animated sequel, they hilariously pointed out how long they’ve been making these movies with a funny little interaction.

The first Toy Story movie came out back in November 1995, making these movies freshly 30 years old as of a few months ago. Hanks brought this up during the recent appearance with Allen, leading to this exchange:

• Tim Allen: "I don't think we look any different. We looked at video of us doing it, and we looked like our grandchildren in the video."
• Tom Hanks: "I thought, did I make the first one when I was in junior high school?"
• Tim Allen: "Horrible."
• Tom Hanks: "We have both had this experience where we've been somewhere in public, and an adult with a little kid has said, 'Oh my gosh, it's Buzz Lightyear! It's Buzz Lightyear! It's Buzz Lightyear! Honey, this is Buzz Lightyear!' And the kid looks up and sees that."

These two probably had no idea that they’d be playing Woody and Buzz Lightyear well into their sixties and seventies (Hanks is 69, and Allen is 72), but they are, and remain beloved for their roles, of course. The actors joked around about looking like their “grandchildren” and like middle school kids when they first made Toy Story three decades earlier, by comparison to today.

Hanks threw the best shade, though, when he told an anecdote about what happens when parents point out to their kids that the actors are Woody and Buzz. He said they are met with a couple of grey-haired guys. Pixar itself kind of has its own wink at how old Woody is getting with the cowboy having a bald spot in one gag in the movie. You can check out the latest Toy Story 5 trailer here:

From what we know about Toy Story 5, this time around, the toys in Bonnie’s room (previously of Andy’s room) will have to fight for attention from a tablet that comes into the kid’s life called Lilypad. All our original favorites are back, including Jessie, Hamm, Rex, Slinky Dog, Mr & Mrs. Potato Head, along with a couple of favorites from Toy Story 4: Forky and Duke Caboom. The movie is helmed by Andrew Stanton, who has been involved in all the previous Toy Story movies. We can look forward to Toy Story 5 hitting theaters on June 19.

Doing the Toy Story movies together has made Tom Hanks and Tim Allen good friends since first starring in the roles back in the '90s. The pair apparently meet for lunch a few times a year to keep things going, and this fun exchange between them definitely is evidence of their fun-loving relationship.

There’s no doubt that A League of Their Own is a wonderful movie. It ranks on many lists of the best sports movies of all time, and CinemaBlend's own Mack Rawden would tell you it's a 5/5. It’s also a sports movie spearheaded by an excellent group of actresses, and not male-centric, as most sports stories are. It’s a snapshot of the world at war and has a nineties feel to it in one fell swoop, and it’s a movie I’ve turned to again and again throughout my life. However, I’d forgotten how angry I get at Dottie while watching.

If you’ve clicked on this article, doubtless you’ve seen A League of Their Own before (but there will be some spoilers in this article). You probably remember that Dottie (Geena Davis) is reticent to even try out for the All-American League, but her kid sister Kit (Lori Petty) convinces her so she, too, can land a tryout. As such, it should be no real surprise that when her husband returns from war, she’s ready to quit the league and go home to make babies. This, in and of itself, is not a problem. Motherhood is not a footnote; it's a gift in one’s life. But I cannot begin to express how upset I get when Dottie quits before the season is over!

One thing I noticed while rewatching the movie during Women's History Month is that A League of Their Own gets the nuances of being female spot-on. Dottie has conflicting priorities: those to her husband, those to her family on the farm, those to being the poster girl for the league, and those as a leader on her team, the Rockford Peaches. It's just that she treats them in that order, too.

The thing is, her husband could easily have stuck around for a few games after returning home. As a clearly supportive husband, he probably would have done so happily, and this is evidenced in the movie when Bob Hinson (Bill Pullman) comes back with her for the final playoff game. Dottie could have finished out the season as a Peach, and hopefully nabbed the championship, then gone home and set up her home life however it suited her. It didn’t need to be one or the other thing.

She’s making literal sports history, and can’t even be bothered to finish out the obligation she signed up for. It just feels out of keeping with the personality of most athletes, and also not in keeping with the competitive personality Dottie (mostly) has. We see how much she cares about the team when she gets them out of drinking binds, takes over the call signs, and can never seem to agree with Jimmy.

Clearly, there’s some ambiguity in her relationship with Jimmy (Tom Hanks), too, and it represents how we connect with people in different ways, and how life can change on a dime. In fact, I think showing how people can be multifaceted is one of A League of Their Own’s strongest suits. Yet, I feel a deep sense of betrayal every single time Dottie decides to go home.

And her lack of competitive spirit does not end there.

Let’s Talk About The Final Play

One of the major third act footnotes is the fact that Kit is traded to the Racine Belles just in time for the playoffs. When Dottie returns back from her ill-advised jaunt through National Parks on her return trip home, she then has to face off against her sister in the final match.

Kit is not as good at baseball as Dottie is. This is established from the movie’s opening shot and throughout the rest of the movie. Yet, in the final moment, as her sister rounds the corner, Dottie drops the ball, and for 30 years after, A League Of Their Own’s ending has been debated.

The final play between Dottie and Kit is shot in a way that the audience doesn’t know if it was done on accident or on purpose, but given the context of the rest of the movie, I think there’s a clear indication it was done on purpose. Fans love pointing out the moment in the nineties when Dottie goes with her grandkids to the museum event and mentions to her older grandkid that he needs to give his younger brother “a chance to shoot.” It feels like evidence she may have done that for her own sister, even as they hit the big time.

There’s some opposing evidence, from the look on Dottie’s face to the time she told that same grandkid to “kill” his younger brother – as in best him – that would indicate the ball drop is a mistake. However, given everything we know about the sisters leading up to that point, my gut feeling is she threw the play.

To be clear, I get that times were different. Baseball was less important for some of these women than setting up their homesteads was. This is also evidenced when Marla leaves the team after marrying Nelson and getting her happily ever after. I think it’s awesome we get to see this cool moment in history when women could be a part of a one-household income home, but were also able to spread their wings into areas of society that had previously been closed off to them.

Also, the movie’s ambiguity and the ways it asks the audience to read between the lines are its strongest facets. It says a lot about the film that I can be simultaneously so understanding and mad at Dottie at the same time. I just can’t get over her sabotaging her chance to be great at baseball.

Times were different, mentalities were different, and Dottie is certainly a different person than I am. But deep in my soul, I feel like if you sign up for a season, you stick with it, and you give it everything you have. You don’t drop balls, literally or figuratively.

Catch A League of Their Own streaming with a Peacock subscription if you haven't seen the 1992 film in a while.

The ‘Burbs – which just recently debuted as part of the 2026 TV schedule – represents another instance in which an IP has been rebooted and, thankfully, the result is solid this time around. The show is, of course, based on Joe Dante’s 1989 film of the same name, which is one of Tom Hanks’ most underrated movies. Created by Celeste Hughey, this show lends further credibility to the notion that there are some film properties that work well for TV, and there’s another Hanks-led flick I think deserves the same treatment.

One Beloved Tom Hanks Movie Should Also Be Considered For A TV Adaptation

A few of Hanks’ best films would actually be strong fits for TV, and two of them have already been rebooted for the medium – Turner & Hooch and A League of Their Own. However, title that’s been running through my mind a bit since watching The ‘Burbs is another classic from the 1980s, Big. That’s right, I’m talking about Penny Marshall’s fantastical comedy, which was released back in 1988.

The highly rewatchable Big tells the story of young Josh Baskin, who laments the fact that he’s short and makes a wish using a mysterious fortune teller machine. Of course, it ultimately comes true. After being mistaken for a stranger by his mother, Josh must navigate adulthood with help from his friend, Billy. From there, Josh lands a fun job at a toy company and starts a romance with co-worker Susan (Elizabeth Perkins). There’s a lot to love about this Hanks movie, and there are some good reasons why it would make a great TV show.

Why Should Big Be Adapted For TV, And How Many Seasons Could It Air?

First and foremost, Big simply features a fun premise that’s downright perfect for a fantasy TV series. Wish fulfilment is a storytelling device that’s long been used in films and shows, but it can definitely still be effective. With that in mind, Penny Marshall’s film features more than a few moments involving a kid getting to do what he wants due to being an adult. A long-form series, however, could add even more moments like that and use them as the narrative fuel for different episodes.

On the other side of that equation, a show could also expand upon the protagonist’s adventures within the world of “adulting.” The original movie does give viewers flashes of the growing pains that come with being an adult, especially as far as work is concerned. Still, why not create some other interesting scenarios for the protagonist in that regard? For instance, have an episode where the character goes to a singles bar or one in which they get summoned for jury duty.

A TV show adapted from Big could also further flesh out the parent(s) of the teen-turned-adult. In the original movie, Josh’s mother doesn’t get too much to do, as she only appears despondent upon his disappearance and merely worries about him until he ages back to 13 at the end of the film. With the series, a sharp writers’ room can find ways to give the parents more agency and show them being more proactive in trying to find their “missing” child.

All in all, I’d say that there’s enough material for this theoretical TV adaptation to run for three seasons at least. As far as the public knows, no such project is in the works, but considering Hollywood’s continued reliance on IP, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility. Should it happen, I’d just hope the show would be as entertaining as The ‘Burbs, which you can stream now with a Peacock subscription. Also, fans can stream Big using a Disney+ subscription.

Light spoilers for the first episode of The ‘Burbs lie ahead, so read on with that in mind.

The ‘Burbs finally made its debut this weekend as part of the 2026 TV schedule, so viewers are now in a position to dive into all eight episodes. As its title suggests, the show is an adaptation of the 1989 black comedy of the same name directed by Joe Dante. This new show may be a fresh take on the suburban-based IP, but it also pays homage to what’s come before. One such way that’s done is through a cheeky nod to Tom Hanks (the lead of the OG flick), and the series’ creator told CinemaBlend how that came together.

During the series premiere of The ‘Burbs, new Hinkley Hills resident Samira (Keke Palmer) goes to a library to do some research on Hinkley House – the now abandoned property across the street from her home. Samira watches a video about the place on a computer and, during the reel, she sees a photo of the town’s founder, H. Horace Hinkley. Funny enough, Hanks’ likeness is used for Hinkley. I asked series creator Celeste Hughey about getting that sweet reference cleared, and she shared some enthusiastic thoughts:

I love the fact that Hanks had no problem giving Hughey and her team the go-ahead to use him as the basis for Hinkley. While part of me wishes that Hanks actually appeared in person as the character for a scene, I think this still feels like a perfect way for the creators of the show to honor Hanks. Interestingly enough, there’s another nod to the actor in the second episode by way of a Forrest Gump poster in the childhood bedroom of Samira’s husband, Rob.

An ‘80s film that deserves way more love, The ‘Burbs sees Tom Hanks play the role of family man Ray Peterson, who comes to believe his new neighbors are up to nefarious activities. The film arguably still stands as one of the most underrated entries in Hanks’ filmography, and it’s since been deemed a cult classic. Celeste Hughey is definitely a big fan and, as she explained, she and her colleagues relished chances to reference Dante’s film:

Hughey also revealed to us that she originally wanted The ‘Burbs to be set in the same universe as the original film, though that plan didn’t work out due to storytelling logistics. Considering the high praise the Palmer-led show has received from critics thus far, I’d say Hughey’s decision to center on a new continuity is working out. With that said, it’s still sweet that she peppered in some sweet nods to the original movie.

See if you can spot the easter eggs when watching The ‘Burbs, which is now streamable with a Peacock subscription, and the Tom Hanks movie on which it’s based is available on the platform as well.

I want to try out a new type of movie quiz this week. Rather than answering questions or solving clues, for this one, we're asking you to put each actor's movies in order. Don't worry, it's just four movies per actor, but it might be challenging, depending on how good you are at remembering when films came out.

I tried not to get too tricky with the actors or their movies, so hopefully even a casual movie fan will have fun with this one. I think the earliest titles referenced go back to the '80s and '90s, and they should be films that most movie fans will know well. Without any further ado, let's get to it!

We’ll never know whether or not Tom Hanks and John Candy might have gone on to become an all-time great comedy duo like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, but at least we have a pair of movies to look to in Ron Howard’s 1984 classic Splash and Nicholas Meyer’s 1985 not-so-classic Volunteers. John Candy’s career was tragically cut short by his untimely death in 1994, but his influence lives on, as evidenced in the affirmational and heartbreaking documentary John Candy: I Like Me.

The doc was directed by Colin Hanks, who recently journeyed to New York’s American Museum of Natural History with fellow celebrity offspring Chris Candy to reflect on one of Splash’s most classic sequences: the hectic rescue chase. While there, via The New Yorker, Hanks recalled the first time the Candys and the Hankses took part in a family dinner that occurred around the time of Splash's theatrical premiere. According to Hanks:

I suppose it should surprise no one that Tom Hanks was already showcasing some of Woody Pride’s key hero aspects displayed in the Toy Story franchise — that’s right: Woody has a last name — more than a decade before that beloved feature put Pixar on the map. There’s no one better suited for saving action figures and making life better for lost toys, even at the expense of presumably hilarious dinner conversation between the Hanks and Candy families. And for what it's worth: yeah, he found the toy.

Also, though, why isn’t it a more talked-about oddity that Toy Story only came out 11 years after Splash? That just feels wrong in literally all the ways.

It's interesting to think about what kind of toy John Candy might have voiced if he'd still have been alive when that universe sprang to life. I like to think Andy would have had an action figure of the actor's Spaceballs character Barf, allowing Candy to dig into a role he's already familiar with.

For all that the Uncle Buck star could leave audiences rolling in the aisles, Colin Hanks' documentary doesn't shy away from addressing how much of John Candy's happiness and good nature stemmed from darker sources. As he put it:

Colin Hanks and Chris Candy probably have all kinds of amazing and singular family dinner stories between them, with any number of famous faces potentially having shared meals with both fams. Eugene Levy and Dan Levy had to have spent time at the Candys house, right?

John Candy: I Like Me is currently available to stream via Amazon Prime subscription.

In November 1994, Tim Allen, one of the biggest names on the small screen, kick-started his impressive movie career with his portrayal of Scott Calvin in The Santa Clause. The box office hit, which instantly became one of the best Christmas movies of all time, went on to launch a massive franchise and led to the Home Improvement star becoming an even bigger force in show business. But, that wasn’t always the plan.

As someone who saw it in a theater (RIP, Saint Vincent 6 Theatres) and has long been obsessed with the movie, I was shocked when I learned that Allen wasn’t the first or second choice to lead the beloved holiday classic. After learning some of the names who were approached before the eventual Toy Story staple, I have to wonder, what would this movie be like if these household names took on the role?

Bill Murray Turned It Down, But What Would That Even Be Like?

First up, there’s Bill Murray, who had previously starred in the all-time great ‘80s movie, Scrooged. On the surface, he would have been perfect for the prickly and self-centered Scott Calvin before his big transformation, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. According to The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray by Robert Schnakenberg (via the Washington Post), the Saturday Night Live alum had an “unpleasant experience” in the 1988 Richard Donner adaptation of A Christmas Carol and had “no interest in pursuing another holiday-themed project.”

This version of The Santa Clause certainly would have been different to incorporate Murray’s signature wit and personality. I’m not saying Tim Allen’s character wasn’t sarcastic, but Murray’s take would have undoubtedly been even more sardonic.

Chevy Chase Reportedly Had To Pass On The Santa Clause, Giving Us A Major ‘What-If’

Chevy Chase, who led one of my favorite holiday movies, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, was also reportedly up for the role of Scott when the film was being developed. In a Vulture piece about all the “what-ifs” of the impactful Saturday Night Live alum’s film career, there was a short blurb about Chase turning down an offer because of a scheduling conflict.

Like the case above, I can’t help but think Chase’s version of Scott would have been more sarcastic than Tim Allen’s eventual portrayal. However, I can’t help but think this version, like Clark Griswold, would have been lacking self-awareness, making it an even wilder performance.

Tom Hanks Was Also Considered, And That Has Me Wondering

Tom Hanks would eventually go on to play Santa Claus (and numerous other characters) in The Polar Express, but he could have played St. Nick a decade earlier. During an interview with the Grunt Work podcast (a podcast about all things Home Improvement), director John Pasquin was asked about developing The Santa Clause and the actors who were considered for the part before Tim Allen. One of the biggest names listed was Allen’s eventual Toy Story co-star.

An early ‘90s, pre-consecutive Oscar wins Hanks playing Santa Claus would have been a treat. Would he have taken a more wholesome approach, or would his version of Scott be more akin to his parts in The Burbs and The Money Pit? Loud outbursts, a cup runneth over with sarcasm and manic energy, and that signature laugh would have been an experience.

Though each of these would have been great to see, I’m honestly glad Tim Allen ended up getting the part. It’s just hard to imagine it any other way.

The majority of the movies that Tom Hanks has filled his career with, from the instantly recognizable blockbusters to the lesser-seen cult classics, are iconic enough that Hollywood has largely resisted the urge to remake all of them. But mega-producers Seth MacFarlane and Brian Grazer have teamed up with Peacock for an episodic reimagining of The 'Burbs that has multi-hyphenate superstar Keke Palmer as the suspicion-harboring lead. I was admittedly wary when the project was first announced, but the first-look teaser below stoked my interest.

The streaming service not only dropped the first preview footage for The 'Burbs, but also revealed when the mystery-comedy will hit the 2026 TV schedule. Now we know it'll be available to watch (via Peacock subscription) starting on Sunday, February 8, with the entire eight-episode season going live at once. So at least viewers who need to solve the mystery won’t need to wait two months to wrap the story. Now without further ado, check out the new teaser!

Not a whole lot to glean there as far as specifics go, but anyone who's familiar with the original 1984 film will know what the deal is. Either way, let's break down the cast and plot synopsis so that we're all on the same page.

What The 'Burbs' Remake Is About

Similar to the original film vying for a "present day" setting, Peacock's The 'Burbs takes place in the here and now, as opposed to a throwback era. A young couple, portrayed by Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall (Jungle Cruise), have recently changed locations to settle into the latter's former childhood home, much to her disgust.

Things get even less ideal when a new neighbor takes up residence across the street, which inevitably starts to unearth some of the dark and hidden-away secrets kept by the cul-de-sac's homeowners, with potentially fatal threats rising up and bringing chaos to what previously seemed like a quiet and welcoming neighborhood. Trust no one!

I can only assume that this new series will bring spins and twists to everything that played out in Joe Dante's film, but I still don't want to dig into those plot points too much just in case it is a fully faithful remake.

The 'Burbs Has A Stacked Cast And Creative Team

Beyond the Nope and Clifford the Big Red Dog stars at the center of the project, The 'Burbs also boasts some stellar comedic talent. The neighborhood will be filled out with characters played by SNL and Bridesmaids great Paula Pell, Newhart and Designing Women fave Julia Duffy, What We Do in the Shadows’ Mark Proksch, and Night Court’s Kapil Talwalkar. As far as I can tell, Weeds and Succession vet Justin Kirk will be portraying the suspicion-sparking new neighbor.

Behind the scenes, The 'Burbs boasts the pair of aforementioned top-tier producers in Seth MacFarlane (for Fuzzy Door) and Brian Grazer (for Imagine Entertainment), as well as Henry Danger creator Dana Olsen, who was the writer and producer of the original film. The new take was developed by Celeste Hughey, a writer and producer for Netflix's Dead to Me and Apple TV's Palm Royale, who served as showrunner for the first season. Also on the writing staff is Rachel Shukert, who previously wrote and produced for shows such as Supergirl, The Handmaid's Tale and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Given how far back Brian Grazer's career partnership with Hanks goes - they first worked together on 1984's Splash before Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code, and its two Robert Langdon follow-ups. Grazer had nothing to do with the original Burbs, but I do wonder if his involvement here means we can expect a certain Oscar winner’s cameo at some point. The 'Burbs features one of Tom Hanks’ all-time great freakouts, so one can hope for a reprisal of some kind.

With of without Hanks’ involvement, The 'Burbs is set to hit streaming on Sunday, February 8, 2026. And Keke Palmer’s fans can also look forward to seeing her in another ‘80s-related project, the upcoming spoof sequel Spaceballs 2, which just wrapped filming this week.

There's no crying in crossword puzzles! Ok, that probably depends on how hard it is. For this week's movie quiz, I decided to focus entirely on one of modern film's most likable actors, Tom Hanks! For decades, he's been delivering outstanding performances in a variety of genres and memorable films. To solve this crossword puzzle, you won't just have to know titles, but also co-stars, character names and other tidbits. So get to it, and hanks for playing!

Tom Hanks and Tim Allen will forever be linked via Toy Story, and with each sequel, it feels like people cherish that bond a lot more. On that note, they've interacted more than just their latest collaboration on Toy Story 5, as Allen recently made an appearance at Hanks' off-Broadway play, This World of Tomorrow.

The Woody actor recently spoke about linking up with his Buzz Lightyear buddy during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Tom Hanks explained how things usually go after the curtain drops on This World of Tomorrow, and how the cast reacted after learning that Tim Allen was backstage and available for photos:

It's funny to think about, because I'm assuming that all the cast have worked with Tom Hanks a good deal at this point. Of course, throw Tim Allen in the mix, and suddenly it's the duo that recently wrapped on Toy Story 5, and a completely different story.

That said, I can hardly fault the entire cast for staying behind for a photo, because suddenly any picture I had with Tom Hanks solo wouldn't feel quite as special afterward. I can't say I'd do the same thing for the stars of other upcoming Disney movies, but then again, I'm not sure any of those stars in movies to come are nearly as iconic as these two going back to 1995.

I also appreciate the continued relationship that Tim Allen and Tom Hanks have, and the fact that they're so willing to talk about it even though I'm sure they're both constantly asked. Perhaps that's Allen sticking to the advice Hanks gave him years ago, that it's all over faster to just answer the question than say they've already talked about it elsewhere.

Tom Hanks has plenty of time to wrap on his play, as Toy Story 5 won't be in theaters until June 19th. The story will feature the toys coming face to face with a tablet, a device many parents today have mixed opinions on when it comes to children.

Until that movie is out, I'll continue to listen to any stories that Tom Hanks has about running into Tim Allen at events, and how the world reacted to it. I'm sure I can also fill my time with upcoming movies in 2026, since there are already a lot I want to see!

It’s a real testament to how great the Coen Brothers are when their lowest-scoring movie on Rotten Tomatoes is a movie like The Ladykillers. I get it, it’s maybe not as strong as their other comedies like Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, or Fargo, and I certainly don’t think that, but it’s not a bad movie at all. In fact, there are some really funny moments, and after rewatching it lately, I needed to talk about how it's really underrated.

First Of All, The Cast Is Wonderful

The cast, led by Tom Hanks, is fantastic. J.K. Simmons is hilarious as the IBS-afflicted explosives expert. Marlon Wayans is perfectly cast. Tzi Ma, of The Man in the High Castle fame, is amazing as the chainsmoking “general,” and Irma P. Hall steals every scene she is in as the church-going widow of the house the “ladykillers” use to break into the casino and pull off their heist. Or try to, anyway. There are also great side characters played by the likes of Coen Brothers vet Stephen Root and the great Bruce Campbell.

Hanks can be one of the funniest actors in Hollywood when he wants to be. While he doesn’t play as many funny characters as he did early in his career in movies like Splash, Bachelor Party, and Big, when he does, as here in The Ladykillers, he’s still amazing. The same can be said for Simmons. His deadpan delivery of all his lines in this movie is, honestly, perfect. By far the most surprising for me, though, was Ryan Hurst. I had completely forgotten that the same guy who played Opie in Sons of Anarchy played the dim-witted football player Lump here. He’s great.

The Movie Is Uneven, But When It’s Great, It’s Great

I will grant you that The Ladykillers isn’t the most consistent movie that Joel and Ethan Coen have ever written and directed. However, the funniest scenes are pure Coen Brothers. Take, for example, the opening scene in the movie when Marva (Hall) goes to the police station to “swear out her complaint” to Sheriff Wyner (George Wallace) about her neighbor playing “that hippity hop” music. I could watch that scene over and over.

The other scene that I simply love is when the whole crew goes to the Waffle Hut. Garth (Simmons) brings his girlfriend, Mountain Girl (Diane Delano). Gawain (Wayans) takes strong exception to the guest and goes off on Garth (whose last name is Pancake), and it’s simply hilarious. I also love that it follows a great tradition of scenes about waffles or pancakes in Coen Brothers movies, as seen in Fargo and The Big Lebowski.

As I said, I’m not putting this up on the Mount Rushmore of Coen Brothers films. In fact, I probably agree that it's the weakest of their output, and at 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, most people believe it to be. That said, it still has some wonderful performances and great moments, and it makes me hungry for another movie from Joel and Ethan together.

I don’t know when it happened, but my Facebook feed has been showing me random posts (not from friends) for months now. While I simply skip over most of these for one reason or another, one recently caught my attention with a dialogue about some of the best actors of all time and who had the best seven-year run. Is it Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, or someone else known for great movie characters?

Truth be told, plenty of great options were brought up in a Facebook post, and now I’m having a hard time deciding who is right or if there’s even an answer to this question. That said, I’ve come up with a list of a few Hollywood leading men who gave audiences some of the best ‘80s movies, even more of the greatest ‘90s films, and countless big-screen moments we’re still talking about years later.

Tom Cruise (1986 - 1993)

• Top Gun
• The Color of Money
• Cocktail
• Rain Man
• Born on the Fourth of July
• Days of Thunder
• Far and Away
• A Few Good Men
• The Firm

Tom Cruise was already a star-in-the-making by the time Top Gun came around in 1986, but this all-time great action flick took his career to new heights. In the seven years following his first portrayal of Maverick, Cruise would appear in classics like The Color of Money, Born on the Fourth of July, and A Few Good Men, to name just a few.

Harrison Ford (1977 - 1984)

• Star Wars
• Apocalypse Now
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Blade Runner
• Return of the Jedi
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Harrison Ford had some acting roles before portraying Han Solo in Star Wars, but his run of hits after taking audiences to the galaxy far, far away in 1977 made him one of Hollywood’s biggest badasses and sexiest men alive. He had a small part in Apocalypse Now, but his return as the “stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf herder” in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was huge. The same goes for the debut of another one of his iconic characters: Indiana Jones.

Eddie Murphy (1982 - 1989)

• 48 Hrs.
• Trading Places
• Best Defense
• Beverly Hills Cop
• The Golden Child
• Beverly Hills Cop II
• Eddie Murphy Raw
• Coming To America
• Harlem Nights

A couple of years after Eddie Murphy breathed new life into Saturday Night Live, he took Hollywood by storm with his starring role in the iconic buddy cop movie, 48 Hrs.. In the years that followed the success of the 1982 comedy, Murphy had a string of hits that included classics like Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, and Coming to America, all of which are considered some of the funniest comedies of all time.

Tom Hanks (1992 - 1999)

• A League of Their Own
• Sleepless in Seattle
• Philadelphia
• Forrest Gump
• Apollo 13
• Toy Story
• That Thing You Do!
• Saving Private Ryan
• You’ve Got Mail
• Toy Story 2
• The Green Mile

There’s a strong case to be made for Tom Hanks’ run in the ‘90s being the greatest of all time. Over the course of the decade, Hanks went from one of the biggest up-and-coming actors in the comedy world to a two-time Oscar winner, a Hollywood leading man, and the star of the most transformative animated film franchise of the decade.

Samuel L. Jackson (1989 - 1995)

• Do the Right Thing
• Goodfellas
• Jungle Fever
• Juice
• Patriot Games
• Menace II Society
• Loaded Weapon 1
• Jurassic Park
• True Romance
• Pulp Fiction
• Die Hard with a Vengeance

I’m not going to lie, I had to leave off at least a half-dozen Samuel L. Jackson movies from this list to make it fit. Seriously, Jackson’s box office run from the late ‘80s through the early ‘90s is straight up bonkers. One of the best sci-fi movies of all time? Check, thanks to Jurassic Park. One of the most quotable characters of all time? Check, thanks to Pulp Fiction. And that’s just barely scratching the surface.

Jim Carrey (1994 - 2001)

• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
• The Mask
• Dumb and Dumber
• Batman Forever
• Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
• The Cable Guy
• Liar Liar
• The Truman Show
• Man on the Moon
• Me, Myself & Irene
• How The Grinch Stole Christmas
• The Majestic

Already one of the funniest names in comedy by the time he took over Hollywood, Jim Carrey became a force of chaos with his trifecta of comedies in 1994. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber all in the same year is straight up wild! But he followed it with hit after hit throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s. Though Carrey’s best movie would come a decade later with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, let’s just look back on that run…

Brad Pitt (1994 - 2001)

• Interview with the Vampire
• Legends of the Fall
• Seven
• 12 Monkeys
• Sleepers
• The Devil’s Own
• Seven Years in Tibet
• Meet Joe Black
• Fight Club
• Snatch
• The Mexican
• Spy Game
• Ocean’s Eleven

Can we talk about how great Brad Pitt was throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s? I mean, he’s still great today, and some of his best work has been in recent years, but he had a stranglehold on American culture back then. Seven, Fight Club, Ocean’s Eleven, and more, all coming out over the course of seven years, is absurd. During the ‘90s, Pitt went from a supporting player to THE GUY in show business.

Orlando Bloom (2001 - 2008)

• Black Hawk Down
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Troy
• Kingdom of Heaven
• Elizabethtown
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Okay, Orlando Bloom probably isn’t the first person to come to mind whenever the conversation turns to great runs, but his seven-year stretch in the 2000s is out of this world. From the Lord of the Rings trilogy to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and examples of all the major genres in between, Bloom had hit after hit at the start of the 21st century.

After going through all these actors and their respective filmographies, I’m having a really hard time deciding who had the best seven-year run. I mean, Tom Hanks’ stretch in the ‘90s is in a league of its own, but Tom Cruise also had a firm grasp on things in the era. Harrison Ford kept striking back, and Samuel L. Jackson was just one bad motherfucker.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below…

The first trailer for Toy Story 5 has arrived and, while there are certainly going to be a lot of fans excited for the fifth film in this toy-centric franchise to hit theaters next summer, some already have a lot of questions based on that simple teaser. Many questions surround Lilypad, who's voiced by Greta Lee and will seemingly play the chief antagonist to the toys. However, a lot of fans are also asking a different question regarding one of the series' most iconic characters.

The teaser trailer for Toy Story 5 doesn’t show much, but it does show all of Bonnie’s toys recoiling in horror at the sight of Lilypad, Bonnie’s new tablet. Most of the characters we see are to be expected, but then at the end, we get a look at the franchise's dynamic duo of both Buzz and Woody. Fans responding to Pixar’s Twitter post of the teaser are widely responding with confusion over Woody's presence:

• I don't understand. The plot is nice, but Woody stayed with Bo because Bonnie didn't love him and never played with him. Now, he'll come back to experience the same scenario. Why does he come back, knowing he won't be loved and won't be played with? - @rayo130433
• How did Woody get back here so fast. Isn’t he on the carnival with Bo in the previous one - @LengkeyLucius
• I don't get it. At the end of Toy Story 4 movie, Woody stays with Bo Peep at that amusement park, literally leaving the rest of the toys. And, now in Toy Story 5 movie, he is back with them? - @asoiaf_266AC
• All the toys looked so horrified. I do question though: what’s Woody doing here? - @inkboy24
• So is it ever gonna be explained how Woody is back with the toys, and doesn’t him being back make Toy Story 4 completely useless? - @turduken21
• Bro, Woody like left. - @DMM_03xx

The fact that Woody would be returning in Toy Story 5 hasn’t been kept a secret. It’s been known since the film was announced that he would be the in the mix and that voice actor Tom Hanks would be returning. That said, certainly not everybody on social media keeps up on the latest movie news so, apparently, not everyone would become aware of Woody's return until seeing the trailer, which can be viewed below:

But, even among those who clearly knew Woody would be back, there's still confusion. Right now, it's assumeed that Bonnie will receive her Lilypad tablet very early in the film if that’s going to be the story’s main conflict. However, this scene would seem to indicate that Woody has already returned to Bonnie's room before that happened. This would seem to imply that either Woody is already back when the film starts, or his return is dealt with within the first few scenes of the movie.

Of course, there are other possibilities. The scenes of characters looking on in horror, or at least the scene of Woody himself doing that, might not actually be part of the Lilypad reveal. It’s even possible these shots aren’t even in the final film and were just made for the trailer as a way to quickly reveal the basic premise of the film, and include Woody’s appearance.

Even if that’s the case, there's still the big question of how Woody will return. In much the same way, fans of the ending of Toy Story 3 felt the existence of Toy Story 4 was unnecessary; fans who appreciated Woody’s ending in the fourth installment are wondering if bringing him back this time around will somehow sully that ending.

We’ll find out what's going on when Toy Story 5 opens in theaters on June 19 amid the 2026 movie schedule. In the meantime, stream the previous installments and more using a Disney+ subscription.

Although Pixar was started in 1986, the animation studio made the jump to theatrical filmmaking in 1995 with Toy Story, the first entirely computer-animated feature film. 30 years later, not only is Pixar still regularly churning out movies, but the Toy Story franchise remains thriving. With half a year to go until Toy Story 5 hits the 2026 movies schedule, Tom Hanks, the voice of Woody, explained why “almost 80 minutes” of the original movie needed to be “completely thrown out,” thus necessitating the delay of its release.

When Hanks stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to plug his new play, This World of Tomorrow, the titular host mentioned that its been 30 years since the public met Woody, Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear and the rest of these anthropomorphic toy characters. Hanks then started talking about how much longer it’s been for Toy Story cast and crew:

One has to wonder that if this original version of Toy Story had made it to theaters, would it have been anywhere near as warmly received as the movie we got? Would it have spawned not just four sequels and a spinoff, but also short films, video games, comic books, theme park attractions and more? Technically we’ll never know for sure, but judging by what Tom Hanks said, it’s unlikely, especially considering the phone call he and the other castmates eventually received from Toy Story’s director. The actor continued:

It was at this point that Tom Hanks and Stephen Colbert joked about how the latter experienced something similar when he learned that The Late Show was cancelled. Then, upon going back to Toy Story, Hanks wrapped up this portion of the interview with the following:

The rest, as they say, is history. Folks who watched Toy Story as a child are now showing this movie and its sequels to their own children. This is one of Pixar’s most well-known properties, and no doubt Disney is willing to drop a pretty penny to make sure that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen come back for each new theatrical installment. As much as I’d like to see those scrapped 80 minutes for historical purposes. I think we can all agree it was a good call that they were thrown out.

Toy Story 5 opens in theaters on June 19, 2026. Stream the previous movies and short films with your Disney+ subscription, and if you’re in New York City, catch Tom Hanks in The World of Tomorrow once it opens November 18th at The Shed.

As someone whose office walls are filled with action figures, stuffed animals and myriad other pop culture collectibles, I’ve always appreciated the power of a good toy. Even so, my anticipation for Pixar’s upcoming sequel Toy Story 5 has fluctuated between abject excitement and the worry that well enough should be left alone. But I’m firmly on the positive side again after Tim Allen’s latest teasy comments.

As one of the core franchise cast members since the start, Allen is as synonymous with the character Buzz Lightyear as he is with live-action projects like Home Improvement. And he’s also always been quick to talk about the movies while they’re still in mid-production, which is more of a boon to fans than the filmmakers, I’m sure. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote the ongoing second season of ABC’s Shifting Gears, the comedian addressed what he calls the funniest sequence in the upcoming 2026 movie, saying:

Gotta love that Tim Allen couldn't even let that story go by without taking a winking jab at longtime co-star Tom Hanks and his 2000 island-stranded hit Cast Away. But there's no time to worry about Wilson here, because we've got 100 Buzz Lightyear dolls who need guidance! The thought of so many dozens of generic Buzzes bumbling about sounds excellent to me, and brings to mind past secenes involving all the boxed Buzzes, as well as the character's Spanish-setting arc.

Though he doesn't tip his hat to how all of the Buzz Lightyear dolls will get saved (or otherwise), Allen does say indicate he had fun providing the voices for all the non-protagonist spaceman toys.

I dunno what it is, but I'm also amused by the idea of 100 Buzz Lightyear toys being so naturally ego-driven that they don't understand why another version is the one everyone should be listening to. The combination of Allen's voice with the character's blindly confident reactions always makes for a good time.

No updates on the newest play-worthy character, the tablet Lilypad, but Allen did use the word "reboot" to describe the story, and touched on how this sequel puts Jesse at the center of the story. In his words:

Even in a world where more than 100 Buzz Lightyears can populate an island, there's only one Jesse, so they need to keep her safe! Joan Cusack will thankfully once again be reprising that role, which will be central to getting all of our familiar toy friends together again.

Find out what 100 meddling Buzz Lightyears sound like when Toy Story 5 hits theaters on June 19, 2026.

Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but there's something truly special about '80s-era Tom Hanks. I realize that his work over various decades is worth celebrating, and has been recognized with several major awards, but man do I love the funny everyman that Tom Hanks embodied in some of his best '80s roles. And as charming as he is in Big, and as hilarious as he is in movies like The Money Pit, Bachelor Party and Turner & Hooch, I think the 1989 film The 'Burbs is one of the future Oscar winner's funniest movies. With spooky season in full bloom (or decay?), now seems like the best time of year to watch it. Oh, and did I mention that it's streaming for free?

Where Can You Watch The Burbs for Free?

The 'Burbs is now streaming for free with ads on Tubi. No subscription required! (Learn all about how to watch stuff on Tubi here.)

Suburban Hijinks Ensues

If you've never seen this one, The 'Burbs is a black comedy directed by Joe Dante ( Gremlins) and stars Tom Hanks as a guy trying to relax during a week-long staycation in his suburban home with his wife Carol (Carrie Fisher), but finds himself teaming up with some of the nosy neighbors in their cul-de-sac who are trying to figure out what's going on with the creepy family that just moved to town. To say that things escalate from there would be an understatement, as we're left to wonder who the real villains are, the mysterious, possibly murderous newcomers or the busybodies trying to see what they're up to.

In fairness to the whole cast, Tom Hanks isn't the sole reason this movie is so hilarious. In addition to the amazing Carrie Fisher, Hanks is joined by the likes of Bruce Dern (as a patriotic war vet), Rick Ducommun (playing Ray's bad-influence BFF), Corey Feldman (as the teen neighbor who's thrilled to watch his neighbors' shenanigans), as well as Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, Brother Theodore and Courtney Gains. But Tom Hanks as the professionally exhausted guy who just wants to drink some beers, smoke some cigars and maybe mess around with his new tools is just so funny. Ray somewhat-reluctantly gets dragged along by his friends in their invasive efforts to know the new neighbors better, and things spiral into full-on mayhem.

Seriously, if you're a fan of seeing Tom Hanks completely lose his patience and freak out on screen, The 'Burbs is the movie to watch.

While The Burbs Isn't A Horror, It Does Have A Spooky, Suspenseful Tone

Is The 'Burbs a horror movie? I'm afraid it would be overselling it to call it that, if you've never seen the movie. If you're looking for a great horror movie, or even a great horror comedy movie, there are better options out there. The 'Burbs definitely a black comedy with some horror elements worked into it, which is why I think it's a great watch around the Halloween season, especially if you don't have the appetite for straight-up horror. As Tom Hanks comedies (and '80s comedies in general) go, this one delivers. And for the price of free, you can't go wrong.

The movie is rated PG, which could make it a good option for families. However, there are some creepy elements that could be scary for little ones -- stuff like a spooky dream sequence, a tale told about a guy who killed his family with an ice pick, and -- of course -- the potentially murderous neighbors.

The 'Burbs Remake Is Coming To Peacock As A TV Series

On a related note, The 'Burbs Is coming back as a TV series, which will be streaming on Peacock at some point in the future. While no release date has been announced yet, we do know that Keke Palmer is starring and executive producing. So those with a Peacock subscription have that to look forward to!

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the original Toy Story. The movie, without question, changed the world of animated movies forever, and is still one of the best Pixar movies ever made. It also began a lifelong friendship between the two franchise leads, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. It turns out the duo, who will reunite in the upcoming Toy Story 5, have also taught each other a few things.

Hanks and Allen aren’t necessarily a pair of celebrities that you would expect would become friends, but the pair have frequently been spotted having breakfast together and otherwise getting together even when they don’t have a movie to work on together. In a recent appearance on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast, Allen talks about his friendship and the way Hanks specifically helped him deal with one of the hardest parts of the job, press interviews. Allen said…

Tom Hanks has a reputation as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, and it’s insights like this that go a long way to help explain where that idea came from. Even in this interaction, it’s clear that Tom Hanks isn’t necessarily any less irritated by being asked the same question 35 times, but he’s keeping his frustration under control because he knows it all be over faster if he does that.

As somebody who occasionally is one of the 35 people asking somebody the same question in a day, I can sympathize with Tim Allen’s frustration with the process that takes place at press junkets surrounding film releases. To be fair, I’m not sure the interviewers like asking the same questions over and over either, but it’s part of the deal.

It’s not difficult to imagine that when Toy Story 5 hits theaters next summer, the pair will have to undergo the same press experience that Allen clearly dreads. I can already predict they will be asked whether they think they will be back for Toy Story 6 about 35 times. Hopefully, Tom Hanks can help keep his co-star calm.

Having said that, the fact that Hanks and Allen will be out promoting Toy Story 5 together next year likely has the two friends looking forward to the experience. It's still unclear how Buzz and Woody will be getting together for the new film. If people get a chance to interview Tim Allen, you can guess that a lot of people will ask that question.

You can’t deny Tom Hanks’ reputation for being “the nicest guy in Hollywood.” From giving a refund to a couple that didn’t like his Larry Crowne movie to starring in Carly Rae Jepsen’s music video in the freezing cold weather, these are just a couple of examples of what a sweet guy Hanks is. However, his son, Colin, got candid about who he thinks is the real nicest guy in Hollywood, and I see where he’s coming from.

Based on Tom Hanks’ admirable behavior and hardly ever playing bad guys in movies, you can easily say that the Academy Award winner is “the nicest guy in Hollywood.” On the other hand, Colin Hanks playfully fired shots at his beloved dad on NPR’s Morning Edition by saying who he’d give that esteemed title to, and you can’t blame him:

Looks like Tom Hanks has some competition! You’d naturally assume that Colin Hanks, having grown up with his father, would be the first to call him “the nicest guy.” And on any other given day, he probably would. However, the Orange County actor’s dedication to his passion project, John Candy: I Like Me, can easily sway anyone to what a nice guy the Canadian actor was as well.

As director of the documentary, Colin Hanks’ “vision” was to honor the legacy of the cherished actor through archival footage, scenes from his best movies, and interviews from those who loved him. Considering the Fargo actor knew Candy growing up, who starred alongside his father in two movies, co-producer Glen Zipper said Hanks wanted people watching the TIFF-premiered documentary the same way they would a John Candy-scripted movie. I'm already expecting myself to laugh and cry watching it.

Excerpts from I Like Me have proven what a sincerely nice guy John Candy was. For example, Steve Martin said the comedic actor knew how to make him laugh during the long production of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles through imitating dubbing and doing fake fight scenes.

Macaulay Culkin, who co-starred with Candy in Uncle Buck when he was 8, remembered his co-star’s “caring” nature when he showed concern after noticing the tension between the then-child star and his dad. Together, these memories show that The Second City alum was more than a comedic actor, but a kind man whose warmth will always be remembered.

While I’m sure Colin Hanks recognizes what a nice guy his father is, working on his John Candy documentary likely gave him a deeper appreciation for the warmth of the Spaceballs actor that couldn't be ignored. Watching so much archival footage and hearing the testimonials of each of Candy’s loved ones clearly couldn’t escape the director’s mind on why people loved the Hollywood actor so much.

You can see why Colin Hanks finds John Candy “the nicest guy in Hollywood” by watching John Candy: I Like Me streaming on your Amazon Prime subscription.

Since ABC decided to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely, celebrities and fans alike have spoken out in defense of not only the show but the host himself. Hollywood bigwigs like Ben Stiller and Wanda Sykes have since weighed in and expressed their disapproval of Kimmel being taken off the air. Now, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep along with a host of other celebs are taking action. All the while, Howard Stern is explaining why he finds the suspension “unfortunate” and how he’s taken action himself.

How Many Of The Entertainment Industry’s Biggest Stars Are Supporting Jimmy Kimmel

It was announced on Monday that over 400 celebrities signed a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which opposes Kimmel’s suspension. The open letter declares that citizens “must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech.” Aside from Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, major stars like Ben Affleck, Regina King, Robert De Niro, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Aniston, Joaquin Phoenix, Kirsten Dunst and Lin-Manuel Miranda. An excerpt from the letter reads as follows:

Disney CEO Bob Iger and the company’s entertainment chair, Dana Walden, made the decision to pull Kimmel from the air due to comments he made in regard to the death of media pundit Charlie Kirk. It’s been reported that Walden and Iger’s decision was not well received by others at the company. Their choice came down after media companies Nexstar and Sinclair dropped the show from its ABC affiliates and on the heels of FCC chairman Brendan Carr suggesting he’d revoke ABC’s license unless action was taken.

Howard Stern Weighs In On The Jimmy Kimmel Live! Controversy

Howard Stern just recently addressed the Jimmy Kimmel situation on air and explained that he’s been following it. The veteran radio host also confirmed that he’s spoken to Kimmel since the suspension came down the pipeline to see “how he was doing personally.” Like many others, Stern is unsure as to whether Kimmel’s show will return or be canceled by ABC. As seen in a clip shared to Instagram, what makes the shock jock uncomfortable, though, is the current situation that the aforementioned network currently finds itself in:

As Disney continues to receive blowback for pulling Kimmel, it’s been reported that internal meetings are taking place at the studio in the attempt to get the show back on the air. Sources allege that a resolution has not been reached yet. All the while, fans are seemingly canceling their Disney+ subscriptions as a form of protest, with one of the streamer’s stars, Tatiana Maslany, also encouraging them to do that. Howard Stern also revealed during his show that he dropped his membership as well:

As of this writing, many are tabulating the odds as to whether Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to the 2025 TV schedule. Reports indicate that the show hasn’t been cancelled as of yet and that the staff hasn’t been laid off. The public at large will just have to wait and see what happens but, in the meantime, it would appear that Kimmel has more than a few people – stars and fans alike – in his corner at this time.

Ron Howard’s 1995 film Apollo 13 is one of the best movies of the ‘90s, winning two Academy Awards (but not Best Picture) from nine nominations. The fact that it’s based on the real-life doomed moon mission of Jim Lovell and his crew adds to the suspense and horror, even if you already know how it ends. I decided recently to revisit the movie for the first time in decades, and I was really struck by one story in particular.

I am so captivated by the majesty of space, and with Apollo 13 being one of the best space movies ever, it was always those scenes — of Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon’s characters crammed into a broken ship flying through the vastness — that held my attention when the movie came out. This time, though, I was blown away by Ed Harris’ Gene Kranz and the people on the ground helping to bring the astronauts home.

The Space Emergency Is Straight-Up Terrifying, But I Was More Fascinated By The Rescue Efforts This Time

It’s incredible to witness the star power that Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton bring to Apollo 13 as Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, respectively. The audience understands how much this mission means to them, because the first hour of the film shows their preparation, their excitement, their years of work all leading to this moment.

All too soon their dreams of walking on the moon are vanquished, and it’s a long shot they’ll even make it back to Earth alive. It’s no wonder this used to be my primary focus, with Tom Hanks’ ability to rip our hearts out, but now, years later, I found that during those tense scenes on the ship, I was really anticipating getting back to Houston to see how their rescue efforts were going.

I honestly think it was that 1970s technology (or lack thereof) that I found so fascinating.

My Mind Was Blown By What Mission Control Was Able To Accomplish Without Modern Technology And A.I.

Look, I’m an Xennial, so I’m fully capable of solving math problems without a calculator and doing research without the Internet. Still, now that I’ve had a smartphone and a stable Wi-Fi connection for half of my life (not to mention A.I.), I’ll admit I, like everyone else, have become pretty dependent on the convenience of modern technology.

This is why I found myself amazed at what the Mission Control workers were capable of. Lives were at stake, and these scientists were calculating degrees of re-entry by hand! With pencils! On paper! There was simply no margin for error, and I couldn’t help but think of how much easier it would be today to just punch some numbers into a machine.

Of course back in the ‘90s, which was probably the last time I watched Apollo 13, I had no idea of the technological advancements that were to come, so it makes sense that seeing the analog work didn’t affect me the way it did on this viewing. Back in 1995, the biggest technological achievement in my life was probably a search engine. And not a good one.

What Was More Fascinating Than When They Built That Filter Using Only Things That Were On The Ship?

One of the big standout moments for me was when the people on the ground had to fashion an air filter using nothing but what the astronauts had on board when carbon dioxide levels started to get dangerously high — literally figuring out how to fit a square peg in a round hole.

I’d watch an entire documentary on what I imagine was a grueling trial-and-error process of hacking an air filter using the cover of the crew’s flight plan, some plastic bags, duct tape, etc. MacGyver’s got nothing on these Mission Control heroes! That kind of effort and resourcefulness is just something you don’t see every day — especially without the help of a YouTube tutorial.

Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) — who was grounded shortly before the launch due to his exposure to measles — contributed to his colleagues’ rescue in similar fashion. He recreated the conditions of the Aquarius “lifeboat” back on Earth to figure out how to power up the craft without using too much power. It appeared to be a slow and frustrating process, but somehow, all involved kept their cool and pressed on until they came up with a solution.

Ed Harris’ Award Nominations Make So Much Sense

I recall Ed Harris being celebrated for his portrayal of flight director Gene Kranz, but I feel like I never fully appreciated the performance — or the character’s control over the situation — until my most recent viewing. Harris was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, and he won in that category at the SAG Awards.

I know that the famous movie quote, “Failure is not an option,” was not actually uttered by Gene Kranz in real life, but it embodied the man and the mission all the same. What struck me most in Ed Harris’ portrayal of him was how cool he stayed under pressure.

On my worst day on a job, I have never been tasked with an unprecedented rescue of three of my co-workers, yet I’m sure I’ve gone into a full-blown panic over issues that are trivial in comparison. Not Gene Kranz, though. In fact, it wasn’t until well into the second half of the nearly 2.5-hour film that he even raised his voice, and he may have only done it once.

Instead, he listened to the experts around him, he trusted his people to do their jobs and he found solutions instead of listing the problems. He was focused on bringing his men home — not worried about lawsuits or running his every move up a corporate ladder, as I imagine would be protocol in a more modern era.

Am I more in awe of Gene Kranz or Ed Harris’ portrayal of him? Honestly, I don’t know (probably both), and I think that speaks to the quality of the film.

Apollo 13 is one of those survival movies that leave you exhausted, and I’m so glad that it lived up to my memory of how good it was. It’s also interesting to me that watching it again so many years later made me appreciate different aspects of the rescue more, while still enjoying the marvels (and horrors) of space.

It’s been a few weeks since I watched Freaky Tales after the 2025 movie joined the list of new and recent movies streaming, and there’s something I’m still thinking about. No, it’s not the fact that no one seems to be talking about the Pedro Pascal movie or the movie’s shocking amount of violence. Instead, it’s all about that random Tom Hanks appearance partway through this blood-soaked anthology film.

This short yet unforgettable scene, which legitimately caught me by surprise, is not the most consequential of this 2025 action flick that everyone should be watching, but it does provide a key moment illustrating the themes of the movie. Plus, its inclusion led me to uncover something I never knew about one of my all-time favorite actors.

Tom Hanks Playing A Movie Rental Clerk Is Honestly Some Of His Best Work In Years

Tom Hanks shows up early on in “Born to Mack,” the third and penultimate chapter of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s anthology film, which follows Pedro Pascal’s Clint as he tries to tie up loose ends before his wife gives birth to their child. When attempting to get into a backroom poker game at an Oakland movie rental store, Clint meets Hank, a well-dressed cinephile and clerk who quizzes him on underdog stories.

Though he’s only on screen for a few minutes (not counting this hilarious end credits scene), this is honestly one of the best Tom Hanks performances in a long time. He’s quick-witted, funny, and just so dang mysterious. The two-time Academy Award winner looks like he was having the time of his life behind the desk, and I had just as much fun watching it.

His Conversation With Pedro Pascal's Character Had Me Laughing, But Also On Edge

The scene I’m talking about is a flashback following a traumatic experience, and so I didn’t know what to expect from this whole interaction, to be honest. It was both hilarious and nerve-racking watching Hanks’ character go on this long tangent about the best underdog stories, especially considering the movie is a collection of stories about people defying the odds. Is he a good guy, a bad guy, or just some weird dude who wants to talk about movies?

This rising tension and awkward comedy make the scene so much fun, either for the first time or on a revisit, and it creates this strange feeling that doesn’t really go away. It feels so weird laughing while also sitting on the edge of your seat, and this scene does just that.

I Thought All The Tom Hanks References In The Beginning Were Just Random Conversations

Earlier in Freaky Tales, right before a group of boneheads shows up and beats the mess out of the group of young punks at Gilman Street, two characters are talking about Splash and Bachelor Party during a conversation about Hanks working at the Oakland Coliseum when he was younger. I initially thought this was just a random, throwaway scene, but it turns out it was something more than that.

Not only did this conversation lay the groundwork for Hanks showing up about 30 minutes later, but it also pays homage to the actor’s Oakland roots. According to SF Gate, Hanks, an East Bay native, worked as a concessions vendor at the stadium and the Golden State Warriors’ nearby Oracle Arena when he was younger. It all makes perfect sense.

You can watch this wild Tom Hanks scene and the rest of Freaky Tales with an HBO Max subscription.

It never ceases to amaze me when an actor is the spitting image of the real person they are selected to play. I do not think a historical portrayal necessarily lives or dies by the performer’s resemblance to the subject, but I think it is something to appreciate, especially when you consider the amount of biopics starring actors who bear absolutely no resemblance to their role. Here are a few notable examples of actors who were clearly hired for their talents above anything else.

Michael Shannon As Elvis Presley (Elvis & Nixon)

The most requested photo in the National Archives depicts Elvis Presley shaking hands with Richard Nixon in the Oval Office, and the events surrounding this historic meeting at the White House are dramatized in 2016's Elvis & Nixon. Kevin Spacey makes for a visually believable depiction of the 37th United States President, but the otherwise wonderfully talented Michael Shannon simply does not cut it as the one many call the King of Rock 'n Roll, even with a decent jumpsuit and wig.

John Wayne As Genghis Khan (The Conqueror)

Oh, boy, where do we begin with this one? The only visual evidence we have of what Genghis Khan looked like is artist renderings, but it does not take an expert to notice that John Wayne was not Asian. Still, the legendary Western movie star was cast as the Mongol chief in 1956's The Conqueror, which has since been regarded as one of the worst films ever made.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson As John Lennon (Nowhere Boy)

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson's 2009 music biopic Nowhere Boy focuses on the pre-Beatles life of John Lennon, as portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. If you ask me, the Golden Globe-winning actor might have been a better fit to play, perhaps, Paul McCartney or, better yet, George Harrison.

Tom Cruise As Barry Seal (American Made)

If more people knew about Barry Seal and what he looked like, I believe Tom Cruise's portrayal in 2017's American Made would have been criticized as one of the most egregious miscastings in Hollywood history. The otherwise talented movie star did absolutely nothing to alter his appearance and pass for the ill-fated, heavy-set CIA smuggler, save what I regard as an embarrassing Southern accent.

Julia Roberts As Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)

Julia Roberts gives, arguably, the finest performance of her career as a single mother and paralegal who uncovers a small town pollution scandal in Steven Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich from 2000. However, if a resemblance to the person an actor is portraying were part of the Academy's voting criteria, she might not have won the Oscar.

Denzel Washington As Frank Lucas (American Gangster)

Ridley Scott's 2007 biopic American Gangster dramatizes the career of mobster Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington, and also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lucas' brother, Huey. Curiously, Ejiofor actually looks a whole lot more like the real Frank than the two-time Oscar winner. However, Washington was a good friend and frequent collaborator of the director's brother, Tony Scott, so he probably had the role in the bag for that, among other reasons.

Johnny Depp As J.M. Barrie (Finding Neverland)

Oddly enough, J.M. Barrie boasted a striking resemblance to another influential author, Edgar Allan Poe, with his tall forehead and small moustache. However, Johnny Depp, who played the Peter Pan author in 2004's Finding Neverland, does not boast a resemblance to either of them, if you ask me.

Hugh Jackman As P.T. Barnum (The Greatest Showman)

Let's not even bother talking about the many historical inaccuracies from The Greatest Showman, 2017's musical retelling of the origins of the circus, and even ignore the fact that P.T. Barnum was not the kindhearted man Hugh Jackman portrayed him as. All that matters to this list is whether or not the Wolverine star looked the part, and the famously attractive Australian actor most definitely was not a match for Barnum in that regard.

Michael Fassbender As Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs)

Michael Fassbender's Oscar-nominated performance in director Danny Boyle and writer Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs from 2015 is widely regarded as superior to Ashton Kutcher's portrayal in Jobs from two years earlier. However, at least the former That '70s Show cast member can say he resembled the tech pioneer more closely.

Jesse Eisenberg As Mark Zuckerberg (The Social Network)

Mark Zuckerberg once made a surprise SNL cameo, during which he stood right next to host Jesse Eisenberg on the Studio 8H stage, proving that they are certainly not a visual match. The actor does not even bother to imitate the Facebook founder's distinctly low voice when portraying him in 2010's The Social Network, but his Oscar nomination proves that that is not what really matters in the end.

Tom Hanks As Fred Rogers (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)

Casting a universally beloved actor such as Tom Hanks to play a universally beloved children's television personality like Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood fame, is brilliant in theory. However, even giving the Oscar winner the icon's signature haircut and sweaters is not quite enough to distract from the fact that you are still unmistakably watching Hanks on screen.

Leonardo DiCaprio As Howard Hughes (The Aviator)

A major inspiration for Marvel's Tony "Iron Man" Stark was Howard Hughes, whose resemblance is actually a striking match for both Robert Downey Jr. and Dominic Cooper, who plays Howard Stark in his early years in the MCU. In fact, I think either one of them would have been a better visual fit for the eccentric millionaire in The Aviator than Leonardo DiCaprio, even if his performance in the 2005 biopic makes it one of his best collaborations with the director, Martin Scorsese.

Warren Beatty And Faye Dunaway As Clyde Barrow And Bonnie Parker (Bonnie And Clyde)

From a performance standpoint, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway make a great onscreen duo portraying the titular notorious bank robbers in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde. However, the screen legends' casting does not earn the film any points for historical accuracy, considering Beatty does not have Clyde Barrow's jug ears, nor does Dunaway boast Bonnie Parker's sharp, thin face.

Taraji P. Henson As Katherine G. Johnson (Hidden Figures)

Taraji P. Henson gives an undeniably commanding performance in 2016's Hidden Figures as Katherine G. Johnson, a mathematician who was pivotal in helping NASA figure out space travel. Yet, when comparing the Empire star to photos of the real Johnson, it is clear the actor does not resemble her much at all.

Anthony Hopkins As Richard Nixon (Nixon)

Reportedly, Anthony Hopkins had some hesitation about taking on the lead role of Oliver Stone's 1995 biopic about Richard M. Nixon. Ultimately, I would say the Academy Award winner went on to give a great performance in Nixon, but I find myself distracted by his struggle to hide his accent and his obvious fake teeth and hairpiece that really do not help make him look any closer in resemblance to the disgraced U.S. president.

Margot Robbie As Queen Elizabeth I (Mary Queen Of Scots)

Cate Blanchett previously gave an Academy Award-nominated performance as the lead of 1998's Elizabeth, and even bore a strong resemblance to the royal based on artist renderings. I cannot say the same about Margot Robbie, even if the Australian actor's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots was still worthy of praise.

Benedict Cumberbatch As Alan Turing (The Imitation Game)

Benedict Cumberbatch has such a distinct appearance, making it difficult for him to resemble anyone else without heavy alterations. However, nothing was done to make him look any closer to World War II-era computer scientist Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

Javier Bardem As Desi Arnaz (Being The Ricardos)

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman went above and beyond to physically become Lucille Ball for writer and director Aaron Sorkin's dramatization of what went on behind the scenes of the beloved TV sitcom, I Love Lucy. However, playing her onscreen husband is Oscar winner Javier Bardem, who does not pass for Desi Arnaz in the slightest.

Ray Liotta As Shoeless Joe Jackson (Field Of Dreams)

Technically, Ray Liotta plays the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, but even a person's spectral remnant should look something like them. The infamous MLB player had a much narrower face and wider ears, not to mention that he pitched left-handed, while the actor did the opposite in the beloved sports movie.

Beyoncé As Etta James (Cadillac Records)

No one could possibly deny that Beyoncé has the pipes to match Etta James, which had to have been the reason why she was cast in 2008's Cadillac Records. However, the "At Last" singer was short and round-faced, and the former Destiny's Child member is neither.

Dominic West As Prince Charles III (The Crown)

I mean no disrespect to Prince Charles III, but is it just me, or was The Wire star Dominic West just a little too handsome to play the Royal Family member on The Crown? Then again, any one cast member's portrayal on the historical Netflix series might pale in comparison to Elizabeth Debicki's striking resemblance to Princess Diana.

Kane Hodder As Ed Gein (Ed Gein: The Butcher Of Plainfield)

The most famous actor to wear Jason Voorhees' hockey mask in the Friday the 13th films must have seemed like an inspired choice to play one of the most notorious serial killers in history in 2007's Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield. However, the 6'2", broadly built Kane Hodder does not boast Gein's narrower face and small stature.

Clive Owen As Bill Clinton (Impeachment: American Crime Story)

In most cases, prosthetics can be very helpful in making an actor look more similar to the person they are portraying, such as when Charlize Theron became Megyn Kelly for Bombshell. Clive Owen adopted this method to play Bill Clinton on Impeachment: American Crime Story, but the makeup only caused the English actor to resemble the 1990s-era President even less.

Angelina Jolie As Christine Collins (Changeling)

Christine Collins is the subject of Clint Eastwood's 2008 period film, Changeling, which is based on the true story of when her missing son was replaced by an impostor. Had she been an even better-known historical figure, there might have been more criticism over casting Angelina Jolie, an actor known for her voluptuous lips, as the thin-lipped 1920s woman.

Fred Armisen As Barack Obama (Saturday Night Live)

Considering the fact that the otherwise extremely talented SNL star Fred Armisen is a white man with a subpar impersonation of the 44th. U.S. President, I'll just say that I am glad Jay Pharoah eventually took over as Barack Obama.

Tom Hulce As Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Amadeus)

Just based on artist renderings of the seminal composer, Tom Hulce was nowhere near a match to play the title role of director Milos Forman's Best Picture Oscar winner, Amadeus, from 1984. However, the actor is widely admired for his performance as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which earned him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination.

Robert Redford As Harry Longabaugh (Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid)

I wonder how many others like me had no idea that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was based on a true story, which might be how the film was able to get away with casting actors who look nothing like the Western outlaws they play. For instance, Robert Redford's mustache works just fine for the role, but Harry Longabaugh, a.k.a. "The Sundance Kid," did not have long blonde locks.

Diana Ross As Billie Holiday (Lady Sings The Blues)

Most would agree that 1972's Lady Sings the Blues is the superior biopic about the trailblazing "Strange Fruit" singer over The United States vs. Billie Holiday from 2021. However, those same people might also agree that Andra Day was a better fit to play Holiday, physically speaking, than the otherwise wonderfully talented Diana Ross in the earlier film.

Robin Williams As Patch Adams (Patch Adams)

The real Patch Adams hates Tom Shadyac's biopic based on his life, which has nothing to do with the fact that Robin Williams looks nothing like the influential doctor. However, it's still impossible to ignore, especially with how they do not even bother to give the Oscar winner Adams' signature mustache.

Mel Gibson As William Wallace (Braveheart)

In the most well-known illustrations of William Wallace, the Scottish warrior is depicted as having short hair and a beard. Why director Mel Gibson opted against this look when he portrayed Wallace in Braveheart is beyond me.

Serena Scott Thomas As Princess Diana (Diana: Her True Story)

Many actors have portrayed Princess Diana to varying degrees of success, but most consider Serena Scott Thomas from the 1993 two-part miniseries, Diana: Her True Story, to be one of the weakest matches, purely in terms of her physical resemblance.

Zoe Saldaña As Nina Simone (Nina)

The 2016 biopic, Nina, sparked controversy when Zoe Saldaña donned skin-darkening makeup and a prosthetic nose to better resemble singer Nina Simone, which the actor would later admit she regretted.

America’s Dad, Tom Hanks, is arguably the most beloved and well-known Hollywood actor of his time. From the jump, he’s made us laugh with his classic roles, proved he could be a successful actor and screenwriter and grow sustainably in Tinseltown by becoming a celeb with a production company. Needless to say, Hanks' work is widely celebrated, and personally, even more loved. And as he literally full-on leaps into his birthday, plenty of celebs are celebrating the 69-year-old.

The A-lister took to his Instagram yesterday to dip into the festivities a bit early and took the time to share two things. First he explained that the video Hanks posted of himself jumping into a body of water was the only way to celebrate the big occasion. Then, his second point was to promote that he’d be joining TuneIn for a radio birthday extravaganza. Check out the OG SNL's Five Timers Club member’s fun post below:

Leave it to the star of the developing Toy Story 5 to find the perfect balance between work and play on his birthday. I’m not sure many would think of, let alone seek out, something that is amusing but productive to ring in their b-day. But I’m not surprised Hanks has. Personally, if I were him, I don’t know if I’d leave that yacht (assuming what he’s jumping off of) or that gorgeous beachy scene. That alone strikes an equilibrium for me.

As mentioned, plenty of loved ones rolled in earlier this morning to officially send the Oscar winner plenty of well wishes for his birthday. Of course, wife, Rita Wilson, was there to kick off the celebrations through her own IG account. She shared a simple standalone image of her husband with her personal sentiments as the caption: “Happy Birthday, my love. 🩷” See the sweet dedication for yourself:

I’m a real sucker for a caring and loving birthday wish, and Wilson’s is no exception. She could’ve posted a catalog of Hollywood Hanks' images, ranging from carpet chic to iconic stills, but rather opted for one in their home. There’s a real sincerity with the veteran actor sitting at home, in regular clothes and with his typewriter. Just add it to the list of why I love this power couple.

Naturally, the Jingle All the Way alum wasn’t the only one to love on Hanks for his 69th. Everyone from John Stamos to Goldie Hawn and beyond showed up in the comments, sending nothing but good vibes and a sweet but odd nickname. Here are just a few of the big names that could be found:

• Goldie Hawn: Happy happy day! Can’t even imagine our lives if you were never born! Love you! 🥰
• John Stamos: Mr Handsome pants
• Kate Hudson: Happy Birthday 🎉🎂
• Julianne Moore: Happy birthday Tom!!
• Carrie Preston: Happy Birthday!!

Clearly it’s a birthday many do not miss. As I said, this is just a portion of Hollywood big hitters wishing him well, among many others. The thing I’m a bit puzzled about, though, is Stamos’s name for Hanks. Where did it come from, and is it regularly used (knowing this may or may not be my bday wish this year)?

The interesting nickname aside, all of us at CinemaBlend also want to join in with Wilson and co to wish Tom Hanks a happy 69th birthday! To celebrate, I may very well dive into his 2025 movie calendar title, The Phoenician Scheme.

Almost 30 years after making the cult classic hit That Thing You Do, fans are still excited to see writer/director Tom Hanks’ pop music dramedy shine on. That fondness is not only held by the fans, but also by Hanks and his veteran cast from that 1996 picture. And while the 2025 movie schedule isn’t promising a Wonders reunion tour, a sweet meeting with actor Johnathon Schaech kind of reignites my hopes for a legacy-quel.

Sharing this beautiful event on social media, Schaech provided a snapshot of himself and the Toy Story legend in the wild together. Continuing to spread the gospel of this deserving classic, here’s what that post had to say:

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that there was something cooking surrounding the legacy of The Wonders. Of course that’s not necessarily the truth, because as we saw with Johnathon Schaech’s 2023 reunion with Tom Hanks, sometimes the boys catching up is simply that. But considering how we got that sweet reissue of That Thing You Do’s soundtrack, it’s not like this singular film has left people’s minds.

Considered by some as one of the best ‘90s movies, it would be nice to see some sort of 30th anniversary re-release in 4K. I’m sure it’d please Harry Potter alum Tom Felton, who actually weighed in on this photo by saying, “You guys look great in gold have I told you that.” Even the once and future Draco Malfoy can’t resist the charms of That Thing You Do!

Mr. Felton isn’t the only young fan of this beloved movie, as even the Haim sisters recently paid tribute to Tom Hanks’ writing/directing debut. The most recent album and tour for rock group Haim actually takes its name from that infamous moment where Johnathon Schaech’s Jimmy tells Tom Hanks’ Mr. White, “I quit!” That feels like a good sign that this picture is not far from people’s minds, much like any other title that catches on years later, becoming a draw for Hulu subscription holders.

However, I may be biased, as I’m someone who is known for random thoughts while watching That Thing You Do on not-exactly-rare occasions. Outside of anything related to the film itself, it really is sweet to see two past collaborators catching up from time to time. Sometimes a brunch is just a brunch…at least, until that brunch leads to a hypothetical announcement that The Wonders will be joining the Criterion Collection. It hasn’t happened yet, but we can surely dream, can’t we?

If you want to see what these folks have been up to, it’s not hard. Tom Hanks can currently be seen in The Phonecian Scheme, as it should be showing at a theater near you. As for Johnathon Schaech, Season 2 of his current show Blue Ridge is still finishing up production, with Season 1 available for streaming on Peacock.

One of my favorite things about my Netflix subscription is how many classic movies there always are to explore, and the other night, I was looking for a comfort comedy that would put a smile on my face. The movie I landed on with my partner was 1986’s The Money Pit. I remember having a lot of laughs with it when I was younger, and man, it didn’t disappoint nearly 40 years after its release. And, I have to say, the viewing had me thinking about Tom Hanks’ career on a broader scale.

It’s pretty wild to think about all the movies Tom Hanks has made across his 45-year career thus far. As the 68-year-old soon will be featured in the new Wes Anderson movie, The Phoenician Scheme, and will reprise Woody for Toy Story 5 next year, I want to talk more about my hopes for the Oscar winner to return to his comedy era.

I Rewatched The Money Pit On Netflix, And I Had The Best Time

To back up a bit, let’s talk about my recent feature presentation, The Money Pit. The comedy was one of Tom Hanks’ first movies after his breakout in Splash. It is about a young couple, Walter and Anna, who jump on buying a below-market mansion which has ridiculous problem after problem, from the staircase collapsing to a turkey catapulting through a window because the oven seriously doesn’t work. Tom Hanks is hilarious from start to finish, employing tons of physical comedy and high energy that is infectious to watch.

I don’t often think about Hanks as a comedic actor by and large, because he’s the whole package, but The Money Pit reminded me how great he is in the genre specifically. It had been a while since I had a laughing fit while watching a movie, but I was busting up when the bathtub falls through the floor after a series of other fixes and Walter starts manically laughing as he stares at the comical hole in the floor. It’s a simple thing, but the way he laughs is just the best thing ever. It's very clear to me the actor made specific choices in his laugh to make it as funny as it is, and I was nearly rolling on the floor after going through the wringer with him. Watch the scene below:

And I’ve seen this movie so many times, too! I knew it was coming, and there I was still laughing so hard.

It Made Me Think About How Tom Hanks’ Early Career Was All Comedies

The Money Pit was preceded by other memorable comedies of Tom Hanks’ early career like Big, The ‘Burbs and Joe Versus The Volcano, before the 1990s had him changing things up with more dramatic roles like Philadelphia, Apollo 13 and Saving Private Ryan. Since the actor’s career is so packed full of beloved movies I think we often forget movies like this, because they are considered not as “good” as many other roles he’s had. After this recent viewing of The Money Pit, I’m thinking about how good of a comedy it is on its own. Nevermind it not being on the same caliber as Cast Away or Sully, it was everything I wanted out of a movie on the evening I watched it, and I think we need to celebrate the actor more for this portion of his career.

It’s not only The Money Pit that has stood the test of time either. I find so many of Hanks’ early movies from the ‘80s underrated, and there’s so many hilarious quotes from them. Oh, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve rewatched You’ve Got Mail (which was from 1998, but somewhat a return to form). Tom Hanks is such a charismatic leading man in romantic comedies, and much as he is a great lead of a comedic plotline, and I wish there were more of them from recent years.

I Love Tom Hanks’ Dramatic Work, But It’s His Comedic Chops That Make Them Better

And, if it wasn’t for his comedy era being so beloved, filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis likely wouldn’t have trusted him with his “bigger” roles over the years. I actually think Hanks is so amazing in so many genres because he mastered comedy so early on. I mean, I think about Cast Away, which can be a very dramatic movie considering it centers on a character who is alone on an island and could die alone there, and how Hanks makes it better because he adds his comedic chops and that element about how one would be if they were on their own trying to survive.

Even though it’s been a while since a comedic Tom Hanks movie came out, I just think we need to start connecting him with his comedic roots because it’s a lot of what makes the actor as good as he is.

Now I Can’t Stop Thinking About How Much I Want Another Tom Hanks Comedy

These days, comedy movies are few and far between, and it’s really a problem I think. Having more movies that are committed to having audiences laugh and forget their worries, and later turn into comfort movies we go back to over and over just doesn’t happen much anymore. I know I’m not alone when it comes to random evenings where I want to just engage in some lightness on my television and I end up having to go to movies from the ‘80s, ‘90s or early ‘00s to capture that feeling I’m looking for.

Yes, this has a lot to do with the era we live in. People aren’t really going out to the movies anymore to watch a straight comedy anymore. But, if Tom Hanks, who is one of the highest-grossing actors ever, were to star in a comedy movie again, I think that could be a big deal for a lot of people. It would have to be under the right circumstances, but I’m really rooting for this for Hanks now.

It’s amazing to think that almost 30 years after Toy Story changed the world of animated filmmaking, the 2025 movie schedule will herald the arrival of a new original Pixar film with this summer’s Elio. That legacy is also defined in the returns to the past that come with sequels, and Toy Story 5’s start of production taking place in this same milestone year is a pretty amazing feat.

But with all of this movement on the board, something as simple as Tom Hanks celebrating his return to Woody, while making sure we have no clue what dialogue he’s actually recording at the moment. Sharing a photo from the booth as this upcoming Pixar movie is getting underway, we have this great tease from Mr. Hanks’ Instagram on what he’s currently working on:

If you pay close attention to that script page in the bottom right hand corner, you’ll notice that the utmost secrecy is very much in play. Nothing like the digital equivalent of White Out to hide what our pull-string warrior will be saying in his latest Toy Story appearance. I also have to tip my hat towards Tom Hanks for the appropriate hand gesture; it not only resembles the number of this current sequel, but is also a good focus puller from that obscured script page.

Though I will admit that sort of secrecy is even more important than ever, seeing as Toy Story 4’s ending kind of put the series at a bit of a crossroads. With Woody and Buzz (Tim Allen) splitting up, as the cowboy was heading off on the open road with his true love Bo Peep (Annie Potts), the question has always been “how could they top that?”

Well, Tim Allen’s Toy Story 5 plot tease has certainly hinted that the wizards at Pixar have come up with something emotionally resonant, and Joan Cusack’s Jessie will be a huge part of it. But of course, the secrets of what’s in the works are still being kept, as this latest stretch of production is taking shape.

We’re not totally devoid of information, as you could see in Mr. Allen’s remarks above. Another recent development saw the Andrew Stanton-directed sequel finding a Toy Story 5 replacement for the late Carl Weathers, who previously voiced the role of Combat Carl. Even Pixar’s co-chief creative officer Pete Docter, another vet of this iconic franchise, has hinted at how Toy Story differs from “kids movies,” in a careful but creative way.

We’re not going to see the results until June 19, 2026; but Toy Story 5 is certainly doing a good job of luring people into its orbit. Even I have to admit that as a person who argued why Toy Story 4 should have been the last, I’m ready to see how such an emotional ending is undone this time around. So perhaps we should watch the skies, or rather Tom Hanks’ Instagram feed, and see what else trickles out of this den of secrecy in the meantime.

The next time you watch a comedy movie, see if you can picture the star engaging in fisticuffs with a criminal and taking down their henchpeople in a shootout. You never know: they could be Hollywood’s next great action hero.

It may seem unlikely until you realize that many of the best action movies and TV shows of all time have been led by or featured pivotal roles played by stand-up comedians or actors who broke through in funny flicks or even classic TV sitcoms. See for yourself by taking a look at some comedically talented actors who beat the odds by becoming action stars.

Will Smith

After initially coming to prominence as a rap artist, Academy Award winner Will Smith proved he had a charismatic onscreen presence as the star of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast in the early 1990s. In 1995, he was cast in director Michael Bay's buddy cop movie, Bad Boys, and, the following year, led Roland Emmerich's action-packed alien invasion flick, Independence Day. There would soon be so much more where those came from.

Cheech Marin

Along with his partner, Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin essentially became the face of stoner comedy, especially after co-leading the classic '70s movie, Up in Smoke. His career would take a turn when he appeared in 1995's Desperado, leading him to become a staple of Robert Rodriguez's movies, and, eventually, began portraying a type of character his roles from the Cheech & Chong movies would try to avoid alongside Don Johnson in the hit cop show, Nash Bridges.

Chris Pratt

By channeling much of the same comedic energy from his scene-stealing breakout role in the Parks and Recreation cast as Andy Dwyer, Chris Pratt helped make 2014's sci-fi odyssey, Guardians of the Galaxy, a light breath of fresh air into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His fun, heartfelt performance as Peter "Star-Lord" Quill also convinced Hollywood he was leading man material, opening the door for him to star in the Jurassic World movies and Amazon Prime's The Terminal List, to name a few.

Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd made his major motion picture debut in the hilarious high school movie classic Clueless before later hit comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Knocked Up made him one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors in the genre. He found the perfect role to become inducted into the MCU in the form of Ant-Man, playing the shrinking superhero with the same everyman quality that made him an A-lister.

Michael Keaton

Because Michael Keaton got his start in stand-up comedy and had been best known for movies like Night Shift and Mr. Mom at the time, comic book fans were up in arms over Tim Burton's decision to cast him in his live-action Batman movies, Batman and Batman Returns. The Oscar nominee has since been regarded as one of the best actors to play the Dark Knight (if not the best) and would even return to superhero movies as one of the best Spider-Man movie villains, Vulture, in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Nicolas Cage

It is easy to forget that Nicolas Cage started out in comedies like Valley Girl and Peggy Sue Got Married before blowing us away in high-octane thrillers like Con Air, Face/Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. Then again, it is also easy to tell that the Oscar winner has a comedy background from some of his action movie credits, including the three listed above and his even Cagier roles, like from Mandy and Willy's Wonderland.

Damon Wayans

You may have forgotten he was on Saturday Night Live, but you should surely remember Damon Wayans from his days on the In Living Color cast and from sitcoms like My Wife and Kids. Hopefully, you did not also forget about his roles in '90s crime thrillers The Last Boy Scout (opposite Bruce Willis) and Bulletproof (opposite Adam Sandler) or when he took over as Roger Murtaugh for Fox's series adaptation of Lethal Weapon.

Robert Downey Jr.

After lasting one season on Saturday Night Live, appearing in several '80s teen comedies like Weird Science, and earning his first Oscar nod for playing Charlie Chaplin, Robert Downey Jr.'s career would hit a snag in the early 2000s. Luckily, he would make an inspiring comeback after leading the 2005 noir thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang before kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the title role of Iron Man and playing Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes.

Eddie Murphy

Many credit Eddie Murphy with single-handedly saving Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, right before making his feature debut alongside Nick Nolte in Walter Hill's 1982 buddy crime thriller, 48 Hrs. Just two years later, the comedian led his own acclaimed action-comedy movie called Beverly Hills Cop, which made him Hollywood's biggest star.

Bruce Willis

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Bruce Willis was best known for playing David Addison on Moonlighting, starring opposite Kim Basinger in Blind Date, and appearing in commercials for Seagram, which is why audiences initially laughed when they saw him as John McClane in the trailer for Die Hard. However, the 1988 action classic would immediately skyrocket the actor to stardom and turn him into a top Hollywood action star, later known for leading thrillers like The Fifth Element, Armageddon, and Sin City.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx's stand-up career led him to join the In Living Color cast and lead his own self-titled sitcom before his Oscar-winning performance in the 2004 music biopic, Ray, and Oscar-nominated performance in Collateral the same year opened wider doors for him. He went on to star in more thrillers like Jarhead, The Kingdom, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Electro, and White House Down.

Alan Ritchson

One of Alan Ritchson's first major acting credits was playing doltish college football player Thad Castle on the uproarious sitcom Blue Mountain State before landing a small role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, doing performance capture for the 2014 and 2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, and playing Hank "Hawk" Hall on Titans. The 6'3" actor's defining, star-making turn came when he was cast in the title role of the hit Amazon Prime TV show, Reacher, leading to his casting in Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu landed her breakthrough role on the hit workplace dramedy Ally McBeal as Ling Woo. Soon after, she achieved cinematic stardom in 2000's Charlie's Angels, teamed up with Antonio Banderas in the 2002 spy thriller Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, and was cast as ruthless assassin O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk wrote for Saturday Night Live for years in the 1980s before co-leading his own acclaimed sketch comedy series with David Cross called Mr. Show, which was his main claim to fame for years. However, he stumbled onto a new career path when he joined the Breaking Bad cast as Saul Goodman, who earned his own prequel spin-off called Better Call Saul, before leading his own action flick called Nobody.

Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence led a successful stand-up career that turned into a successful TV career with his hit sitcom, Martin, in between starring in movies like Do the Right Thing and Boomerang. In 1995, he played Det. Marcus Burnett, for the first of multiple times in Bad Boys and even went on to play a cop in a few more overt comedies, namely Blue Streak and Big Momma's House.

Ryan Reynolds

For years, even after starring in more earnest thrillers like Smokin' Aces and Safe House, it seemed like Ryan Reynolds' defining performance would forever be the title role of National Lampoon's Van Wilder, which paved the way for him to star in more raunchy comedies like Waiting... or Just Friends. However, that would change in 2016 when he led Deadpool, which is still very much on the side of silly but is also as action-packed as any other comic book movie.

Sam Richardson

Sam Richardson quickly became a favorite in the comedy landscape for his hilarious performances in shows like I Think You Should Leave, Veep, and Ted Lasso. He would later go on to impress audiences in Amazon Prime's action-packed time travel movie The Tomorrow War opposite Chris Pratt, as the lead of the 2021 horror-comedy movie Werewolves Within, and in Paramount+'s Star Trek: Section 31.

Keanu Reeves

As the star of franchises like the John Wick movies and the Matrix films, in addition to favorites like Speed and Point Break, Keanu Reeves is one of the most prolific action stars in cinema history. Thus, it is sometimes hard to believe that he is the same actor who, excellently, played one-half of the titular duo from the Bill & Ted movies.

John Goodman

John Goodman began rising to prominence on the groundbreaking sitcom Roseanne as Dan Conner (whom he would reprise in the revival series The Conners). However, he has managed to cover just about every genre you can think of throughout his career, including action films like Kong: Skull Island and Atomic Blonde.

Emily Blunt

It might seem like a stretch to call Emily Blunt a comedy star, but she did find her breakthrough film role with a hilarious scene-stealing performance in 2006's The Devil Wears Prada. She would later prove she could play someone with a rougher exterior when she starred opposite Tom Cruise in the thrilling time loop movie, Edge of Tomorrow, and in Denis Villeneuve's stunning Sicario.

Rick Moranis

Rick Moranis is one of the most treasured comedic actors of his time, from his days at SCTV starring alongside Dave Thomas as the McKenzie Brothers (who led their own 1983 movie, Strange Brew), to appearing in films like Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. In the middle of those comedy classics was a role in Walter Hill's dystopian "Rock 'n Roll fable," Streets of Fire.

Bill Burr

Bill Burr used to mock the Star Wars movies in some of his stand-up bits, which gave The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau a funny idea to bring him into the galaxy far, far away. He cast the Massachusetts-born comedian on the series as a mercenary named Migs Mayfield, which Burr has since recognized as one of the highlights of his career.

John Leguizamo

Despite getting his start as a stand-up comedian, many of John Leguizamo's earliest acting roles have actually been in action movies, including Die Hard 2 and Executive Decision. In addition to more humorous credits, like To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and the Ice Age movies, more thrillers would come his way, such as the John Wick movies and Violent Night.

Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson may be closely associated with comedies like Bottle Rocket, Meet the Parents, and Zoolander, but the actor has diversified his talents over various styles. He has even tried his hand at the action genre a few times, most notably in Behind Enemy Lines, No Escape, and Disney+'s MCU-canon series, Loki

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks' first major show business breakthrough was a sitcom called Bosom Buddies, which led to roles in comedy films like Bachelor Party and Turner & Hooch. It was his Oscar-winning roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump that opened the door for him to star in intense dramas like the acclaimed war movie Saving Private Ryan and the sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas.

Val Kilmer

Some of Val Kilmer's most iconic roles include Iceman in Top Gun, Doc Holliday in the Western movie classic Tombstone, and the title role of Batman Forever. However, his breakthrough films were the ridiculous spy parody, Top Secret!, and the college comedy, Real Genius, in the early-to-mid 1980s.

Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis rose to fame as Jackie Burkhart in the That '70s Show cast and as the voice of Meg on Family Guy before acquiring A-list fame. Her action movie credits, namely the video game movie adaptation Max Payne and the Wachowski's ambitious sci-fi adventure, Jupiter Ascending, have not been her most esteemed efforts, but we will still count them.

Randall Park

Randall Park is best known for leading the sitcom Fresh off the Boat, his hilarious cameo on The Office as "Asian Jim Halpert," and for hit comedy movies like The Interview and Neighbors. He has also become a staple of the comic book movie genre with his role in the MCU as Agent Jimmy Woo and as Dr. Shin in the Aquaman movies.

Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf started making a name for himself when he was a teen as Louis on the Disney Channel original comedy series, Even Stevens. He went on to make a Hollywood breakthrough in the Transformers movies, which led to his roles in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and, eventually, David Ayer's 2014 war drama, Fury.

Malin Akerman

Before she became the first actor to play Silk Spectre II in live-action in 2009's Watchmen, Malin Akerman rose to fame in comedy movies like 2007's The Heartbreak Kid and shows like Children's Hospital.

Jim Belushi

Just like his late older brother, John, Jim Belushi broke out on Saturday Night Live. Unlike John, Jim achieved a brief career in action movies, such as Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Principal, and Oliver Stone's Salvador.

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine was already an Oscar-winning movie star when he was cast as the lead of the hit sitcom, McHale's Navy. Eventually, he would appear in more earnest action-oriented titles, such as a made-for-TV adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, John Carpenter's Escape from New York, and 2010's RED.

The Hanks-Wilson family is full of actors, from Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson (naturally) to their sons Colin, Truman and Chet. While not everyone in the fam has as impressive titles as the patriarch Hanks' best movies on their resumes, his kids are continuing to make their own way. Ahead of starting to work on the Kate Hudson-starring comedy Running Point, the 34-year-old occasional rapper received some sweet and signature advice from his A-List dad.

The actor-model revealed the sage and on-brand guidance his Forrest Gump-starring pops shared with him ahead of filming, and long before the basketball series landed on the 2025 Netflix TV schedule. The words of wisdom, the Your Honor alum noted to Page Six, were three major points that align fittingly with the Hollywood hitter’s professional reputation. shared he’s always sought counseling from his father in the acting biz, saying:

I don’t think the perspective could be better, and has certainly helped the Castaway actor’s resume become what it is today. It always seems like the simplest bits of wisdom manage to resonate the most among coworkers and higher-ups. It's cool to know the Project X performer had some solid ground to start from in joining the series created by Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen. I’d personally never seen Chet Hanks act before, and thought he mostly held his own against Hudson and other stars.

Even with Running Point's mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, it’s been ranking regularly on the most streamed charts on and off since its premiere. And with one of the quickest Netflix renewals, I think it’s safe to say the cast made a splash with audiences, Chet included.

I hope the Travis Bugg actor feels pretty good with his work and how he translated his father's words on the set. I have a feeling there’s plenty more to come on the court and beyond for the younger entertainer.

The father-son relationship is multi-faceted. While the Fantastic Four alum seeks tips from his dad’s keen acting eye, Chet explained the Lamar-Kendrick feud to his pop. I love to see the fun and realistic family dynamics between the two, I’d love to know what his other kids converse with him about. Regardless, it’s fun to know that the Hanks’ family takes time to help each other in the classic Tom Hanks way in all of their pursuits.

SNL50: The Anniversary Special, which aired as part of the 2025 TV schedule last Sunday, drew considerable attention for its star-studded sketches. It also stirred up a bit of controversy due to its Black Jeopardy! sketch. This special iteration of the recurring skit, which featured series vets like Eddie Murphy and Leslie Jones, also saw Tom Hanks reprise his role as a MAGA supporter named Doug. Saturday Night Live alum Victoria Jackson took issue with the sketch, but she’s now providing some clarity on the matter.

What Was The Sketch About And What Did Victoria Jackson Originally Say?

Black Jeopardy! has been a recurring sketch for some time now and sees long-serving SNL cast member Kenan Thompson play the role of host Darnell Hayes. Based on the real game hosted by Alex Trebek (who appreciated the segments), it sees contestants competing while answering trivia related to Black culture. During the anniversary sketch, Tom Hanks’ Doug answered a question correctly, before sharing a thought about church. And, when Darnell agreed and went to shake his hand, Doug seemed hesitant to accept.

Victoria Jackson, who was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1986 to 1992, attended the anniversary special and was aware of the segment. TMZ eventually got in touch with her, and she ultimately referred to the sketch as “stupid.” She also referred to an X post from Link Lauren, who chastised the comedy bit for furthering the notion that supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Make America Great movement are racists.

As previously alluded to, this wasn’t the first time Tom Hanks played Doug. He did so during a 2016 sketch, which is now one of the top SNL clips on YouTube. In that segment, the seemingly awkward Doug manages to answer questions skillfully and find common ground with his Black peers. As with the latest sketch, there’s also a moment in which he nearly misses a handshake with Darnell. Some consider Doug to be one of Hanks’ best characters and, after this newest performance, it’s been said that Victoria Jackson “slammed” Hanks.

How Did Victoria Jackson Clarify Her Comments About Tom Hanks?

The Strip Mall alum took to Instagram to share a video, in which she attempted to clear the air. She began the video by questioning whether the saying “all publicity is good publicity” actually rings true. After that, she went on to address Tom Hanks – who she apparently exchanged pleasantries with at SNL50 – directly:

Victoria Jackson then referred directly to the article from TMZ, before recalling that a publicist friend of hers reached out to ask for a statement on the Black Jeopardy! sketch. While Jackson initially couldn’t remember it, her friend sent her an article detailing the segment and the handshake moment. Once she remembered, she referred to the moment as “horrible” and recalled the audience not laughing. After clarifying that she only agreed with Link Lauren and added that the skit was “disgusting,” she said this as well:

The comedian went on to say that she also took issue with some of the sexual vulgarity featured in the show. You can check out her full response in the video below:

All in all, it would seem that Victoria Jackson wants to make it clear that while she didn’t agree with the sketch, she didn’t attend to slam Tom Hanks. When it comes to Black Jeopardy! itself, it’s realistically likely that the segment will return at some point, given its popularity. As for whether Hanks will reprise Doug, that remains to be seen.

In the meantime, know that Saturday Night Live will return to NBC with a new episode on March 1 at 11:30 p.m. ET, with the host and musical guest being Shane Gillis and Tate McRae, respectively. You can also stream episodes using a Peacock subscription.

Tom Hanks has built a career as an amazing actor and performer, and that’s enough reason to celebrate the man. But if you’re like me, you also appreciate his writing and directing efforts as reasons why he’s one of our greatest talents. Which is yet another excuse for me to celebrate his writing/directing debut, That Thing You Do, as one of the best ‘90s movies - especially when it inspires random thoughts like the ones I’m about to share with you now.

That Thing You Do On VHS For $5 Was A Solid Teenage Investment

There was once a product line known as “20th Century Fox Selections,” which involved special titles being on sale “for under 10 dollars” on VHS. That Thing You Do was one of them, and seeing as I worked electronics at K-Mart in my teenage years, this tape and I were bound to meet. That’s right: before I was even a professional entertainment journalist, my work put me in line to discover movies.

The Extended Version Is The Better Version To Me

Most “Extended” or “Director’s Cuts” either add some scenes here or there, or totally overhaul the picture into a sprawling, Ridley Scott-style epic. That Thing You Do’s superior extended cut is somewhere in the middle, adding 39 minutes worth of moments that help the movie breathe. It also does a great justice to Tina and Guy's breakup plotline, and shows us that Mr. White had a special man in his life, played by NFL legend Howie Long.

My Mind Is Still Blown That This Soundtrack Is All Originals

Tom Hanks needs to write a musical, a jazz record, or something involving melody. His pen is one of the several, including late Fountains of Wayne member Adam Schlesinger, who gave this movie its totally original sonic landscape. That’s right, even “Lovin’ You Lots And Lots,” a song that sounds like it should have existed during the ‘50s, was created specifically for this film.

That Thing You Do Is Insanely Quotable

I have certain lines and moments of That Thing You Do that I’ll either quote with friends and loved ones, or even out in the wild. Steve Zahn’s spiel about the pigging contest at one of the several state fairs The Wonders play is one that definitely comes up quite often. Also, whenever it’s a bad retail day, I love to think to myself that those cats, much like Telemart, don’t know squat about service.

I Still Can’t Believe The Bass Player Never Technically Had A Name

In all fairness, Ethan Embry gave his character a full name in “Tobias Player,” while only being credited as T.B. Player. I like it, as it totally works, and I could buy that member of The Wonders as a Tobias. Sadly, that answer came to us in 2016, and I don’t think it’s been officially canonized by Tom Hanks.

What Would The Wonders Journey Be Like If Chad Was Still In The Group?

Everything in That Thing You Do happens because of the fact that The Wonders’ original drummer Chad (Giovanni Ribisi) broke his arm while vaulting over parking meters in Erie, PA. If that didn’t happen, “That Thing You Do” wouldn’t have seen its uptempo rebirth - which was the move that pushed it all into place. It’s practically a temporal hinge point, and like Doc Brown, I wonder what would have happened if it opened the other way.

That Thing You Do Should Have Never Been “A Ballad”

Oh, James Mattingley II (Johnathon Schaech) - author of the best-selling book “Alone In My Principles.” He co-wrote this would-be “ballad” with Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn), and you can practically tell that this tune was straining against its initial definition. Score another win for Guy “Skitch” Patterson.

This Film Is Where Liv Tyler Officially Stole My Heart

Everybody can pinpoint where they developed those watershed celebrity crushes. For me, I fell hard for Ms. Liv Tyler when watching That Thing You Do presented her as the kind-hearted Faye Dolan. Between snappy mid-century fashions and her sincerity, it was hard not to want only the best for Jimmy’s soon-to-be ex.

The ‘Oneders’ Was Never Going To Work As A Band Name

Commonly mispronounced as “The Oh-need-ers,” the clever approach was just never in the cards when naming those boys on stage. Everyone knows that if you can’t literally make a name for yourself at the Mercyhurst Talent Show, you should probably go back to the drawing board.

Sean Whalen Is A Professional “That Guy”

Regardless of pronouns, well-regarded character actors that seem to pop up everywhere are “That Guy!” Sean Whalen’s heckling skills in That Thing You Do were a huge sign that he’d made it, because by that point he’d already “that guy’d” his way into movies like Batman Returns, Twister, and The Cable Guy.

RIP Adam Schlesinger

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, songwriter Adam Schlesinger passed away, due to “Coronavirus complications.” While hearing “That Thing You Do” always brings me joy, it’s a bittersweet moment when remembering that the man behind that song was taken before his time.

Growing Up Is Understanding Tina Wasn’t An Evil Girlfriend

Initially, Charlize Theron’s Tina came off to me as a cold and aloof girlfriend who just didn’t get Guy. However, with time, wisdom, and the Extended Cut’s added context of Tina genuinely falling in love with her dentist, I came to realize that she and Guy were not a good fit. Still, she should have dumped him much earlier, rather than waste both of their time.

The Evolution Of The Wonders Is Cool To Witness

You can literally feel the song at the heart of That Thing You Do, and the group that sings it, evolve into their final forms. Through clever breadcrumbs like T.B. Player enlisting in the U.S. Marines, and just how “That Thing You Do” is played in each venue, the path to the Hollywood Television Showcase is one that teaches us a lot about these young, good men.

Holmes Osborne Is A Professional ‘Movie Dad’

Between 1996 and 2000, Holmes Osborne was the on-screen dad in That Thing You Do, Election, Bring It On, and Donnie Darko. An ace at playing an authority figure, I think this run qualifies Mr. Osborne as a professional “Movie Dad,” especially with the final turn for his paternal figure in this film seeing the straight-laced electronics store manager loosening up and embracing his son Guy’s dream.

That Thing You Do Should Have Never Lost The Best Original Song Oscar

Anyone who knows me knows that I have strong opinions on the Academy Awards, and my list of Best Picture losers who should have won is just part of that equation. But one of my deeply held grudges in Oscar history is the fact that “You Must Love Me” from Evita somehow bested “That Thing You Do” as the Best Original Song of the 69th Academy Awards.

That Thing You Do’s Cameo Game Is So Wicked

There is a seriously strong bench of performers that make up the world of That Thing You Do’s supporting and cameo cast. Just to name a handful of folks that show up at one point or another, we get to see Chris Isaak, Paul Feig, Peter Scolari, Colin Hanks, and Bryan Cranston make appearances. And if you watch the Extended Cut, former football player Howie Long shows up as the implied boyfriend of Tom Hanks’ Mr. White.

The Wonders’ Song Never Gets Old

I’ve never counted how many times “That Thing You Do” is played, both partially and in full, in Tom Hanks’ cinematic tribute to ‘60s pop. What I do know is that no matter how many times this tune comes on through streaming music, or even in the local supermarket, I will always smile and sing along.

T.B. Player Could Have Been A Preacher

While we know that Tobias “T.B.” Player eventually served two tours in Vietnam, "receiving the Purple Heart for wounds sustained at The Siege of Khe Sanh," he seemed cut out to become a preacher. Though he would go on to become a building contractor, his ability to cite scripture with Guy’s Uncle Bob (Chris Isaak) proved he was a man of some level of faith, and he had the gentle demeanor to pull it off.

The Scene Where The Song First Plays On The Radio Is An All-Timer

One of the definitive best movie music moments has to be when Faye and The Wonders catch “That Thing You Do” on the radio for the first time. Capturing the moment when everything changes for this band of friends, it’s also a scene that pairs such a feeling with a very summery vibe to it. Also, Steve Zahn dancing with a cardboard cutout never gets old.

Tom Everett Scott Is Really Good At Channeling A Young Tom Hanks

There’s a scene where Tom Everett Scott’s Guy is talking on the phone with his girlfriend Tina, and the performance during that moment feels like watching young Tom Hanks during his early career. It was probably unintentional, but the resemblance made That Thing You Do’s Guy even more of a lead to root for.

‘Boss’ Vic Koss Is Even More Of A Jerk In The Extended Version

“Boss” Vic Koss (Kevin Pollak) always comes off as a jerk when The Wonders hit Pittsburgh. But if you watch That Thing You Do’s extended cut, you get quite a bit more of his nasty energy to behold. Sure, Lenny shouldn’t have been messing with his Cuban cigars, but that wasn’t a license to treat The Wonders like trash.

That Thing You Do Belongs In The Criterion Collection

Everybody has those favorites of theirs that they wish would be given the full Criterion Collection treatment, flush with special features and insightful essays. I think it’s time to give Tom Hanks’ writing/directing debut that treatment, or at the very least a premium 4K re-release of the generous Blu-ray package that ported the Extended Cut and its extras. And if anyone is listening, I’d be glad to contribute an essay upon request.

I Want To Write An Entire Series Of Mr. Downtown Mysteries That Live Up To That Theme

If I had to pick a favorite track of That Thing You Do’s soundtrack, besides the titular ditty, I’d have to go with the theme from “Mr. Downtown,” sung by the dulcet tones of Freddy Fredrickson (Robert Torti). It’s a loving riff on Henry Mancini’s theme for Peter Gunn, which only makes me want to create a mystery series that fully fleshes out that fictitious TV series. Clearly I’m not alone here, as YouTube channel Arcade Productions has already taken a spin on such a project.

Mr. White Must See Himself In Guy Patterson

Tom Everett Scott kind of resembles a young Tom Hanks in his performance, and while it seems unintentional, I think it may have also served a secondary purpose. Between Mr. White and Guy bonding over sunglasses at a State Fair, and the considerate speech that Playtone’s mover and shaker gives to the young squire after The Wonders implode, it feels like past life experience is a motivator between mentor and student.

I Would Watch Weekend At Party Pier

A short sequence meant to lampoon the teen beach movies of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, Weekend At Party Pier is where The Wonders become Cap’t Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters. Yes, it looks incredibly goofy, but I would be very happy to see this frothy lampoon, directed on screen by the late Silence of the Lambs helmer Jonathan Demme, become an actual movie.

Lamarr Is A Five-Star Human Being And Ace Concierge

If you’re a serious practitioner in the hospitality industry, you know how to make people happy before they even ask. The Ambassador Hotel’s concierge Lamarr (Obba Babatundé) is someone who definitely fits that bill, as he takes care of the sickly Faye, makes killer dessert suggestions, and makes sure that Guy Patterson gets to appreciate jazz, and the love of his life, in the appropriate fashion.

When Can We See That Thing You Do As A Broadway Musical?

We’ve seen plenty of Hollywood motion pictures become Broadway musicals, and there are even more waiting in the wings to have their shot. But when will the Great White Way get with the program and turn That Thing You Do into an expanded, full spectacle musical that feels like a Wonders concert?

Darlene And Chad Totally (Probably) Got Married

While Guy and Faye are That Thing You Do’s predictable love connection, I’m now inclined to think that Chad and Guy’s sister Darlene (Dawn Maxey) wound up together in life. After being rebuffed by Lenny Haise after a spark of interest, and Chad becoming close to the Patterson family in Guy’s absence, this is one leap involving Chad that could have worked.

There Is Not A Universe Where Jimmy Deserved Faye’s Love

Jimmy was cheating on Faye with Diane Dane (Chaille Percival), and I’m tired of pretending otherwise. She sits on the man’s lap during the rehearsal for “My World Is Over,” Jimmy talks about her constantly, and you can tell he is smitten with her. Faye Dolan deserved much, much better than that; and he should have dumped her in Pittsburgh.

I Wonder How Many People Actually Used Jimmy’s Quitting Schtick After Seeing This Movie?

Johnathon Schaech’s Jimmy was That Thing You Do’s heel, and that’s a credit to the Arrowverse vet’s skills. So is the fact that his catchy, passive-aggressive hit single “I Quit (Mr. White)” is something that I could see viewers being tempted to implement when leaving a job at one point or another.

Did Tom Hanks Write Mr. White’s Liner Notes For The Mondo Vinyl?

On the back of Mondo’s long-awaited That Thing You Do vinyl release is a section of liner notes that are credited to “Mr. A.M. White,” who is presumably Tom Hanks’ character in the film. Seeing as the man created this world, I really want to know if he wrote those liner notes - in between making hit movies and writing novels like “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece,” did he add this expansion of lore to the Playtone Galaxy?

I Still Want A That Thing You Do Legacy-quel

We saw snapshots of where all of The Wonders wound up after their disbanding at the end of That Thing You Do, and fans still hold those clues as canon. With the 30th anniversary of the film approaching in 2026, I really think it’s time to reconsider putting together a legacy-quel that follows the band in the ‘90s, and how their past climb to stardom is seen in the march to Y2K.

The Academy Award for Best Actor has been handed out every year since 1929 — fun fact, it was awarded to German actor Emil Jannings for not one but two acclaimed roles, in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh — and in the near-century since, it's been presented 97 times to 86 actors. But while taking home that coveted statuette is definitely a career highlight for any performer, the honor does add a little extra pressure on the actor's next project. Will it be as beloved and acclaimed as the role that won them the gold? Here are 32 films that Oscar-winning actors did after taking home the Academy Award, and how they were received.

Cillian Murphy

After the enormity of portraying famed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's billion-dollar blockbuster Oppenheimer, and taking home the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor in the process, Cillian Murphy went small for his next film — literally. In the 2024 adaptation of Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These, Murphy returned to his native Ireland to play Bill, a quiet coal merchant and father of five internally struggling with the harsh realities of the infamous Magdalene Laundries. While Murphy didn't replicate the awards dominance of Oppenheimer with SMTLT, his internal and affecting performance was widely praised by critics.

Joaquin Phoenix

After four nominations throughout his decades-spanning career, Joaquin Phoenix finally took home that Best Actor statue in 2020 for his engrossing portrayal of the nihilistic clown Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips' Joker. Following that iconic role, Phoenix next appeared in the 2021 Mike Mills dramedy C'mon C'mon, an improv-heavy performance that saw the actor play a middle-aged radio journalist tasked with babysitting his nephew (Woody Norman) while on the road for work. Phoenix was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards, and the film was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the Top 10 Independent Films of the year.

Will Smith

Will Smith had quite an, um, eventful evening when he took home the Oscar for Best Actor in 2022 for King Richard after two prior nominations (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). Winning an Oscar means that a spotlight is already bright on an actor, but the added publicity from the ceremony means his post-slap comeback would be even more scrutinized than usual. His follow-up was 2022's Emancipation, in which he played a runaway slave in 1860s Louisiana. Though the drama received mixed reviews overall, Smith won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance.

Anthony Hopkins

Though he's garnered six Oscar nominations across his illustrious acting career — with his most recent win being for 2021's The Father — Anthony Hopkins' first Academy Award was for that scene-stealing villain, psychiatrist turned serial killer Hannibal Lector in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. Following up such an iconic performance is no small task and unfortunately, Hopkins' next film, 1992's Freejack opposite Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger, was a sci-fi dud, bombing both with critics and audiences. During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Hopkins himself called the film "terrible."

Leonardo DiCaprio

Five-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio had a bit of "always the bridesmaid" syndrome where the Academy Awards were concerned, until he finally took home the Best Actor Oscar for his emotionally raw and physically punishing performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2019 Western epic The Revenant. His next big-screen role was, graciously, a bit less cold and blustery, trading the frosty American Midwest for starry Los Angeles in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The latter received 10 Oscar nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including a nod for DiCaprio's individual work.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington had already taken home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a Civil War soldier in the 1989 war drama Glory, but he got his first big Best Actor win for portraying corrupt LAPD officer Alonzo Harris in the 2001 crime thriller Training Day. His next performance was another memorable Denzel role: as the title character in the 2002 Nick Cassavetes-directed drama John Q, which saw Washington play a desperate father who takes a hospital emergency room hostage in order for his son to receive a heart transplant. Alas, despite some praise for Denzel's performance, the film itself boasts only a 26% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Robert De Niro

Six years after taking home the Best Supporting Actor statue for The Godfather Part II, Robert De Niro got his Best Actor win for his iconic and intense work as boxing champion Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. A year later, De Niro put away the boxing gloves and picked up the Bible to play a Roman Catholic monsignor in 1981's True Confessions, opposite fellow The Godfather great Robert Duvall. Though reviews for the neo-noir were largely positive, the National Review's William F. Buckley, Jr. panned it: "Robert De Niro is badly miscast. He is never entirely convincing."

Matthew McConaughey

After acclaimed turns in 2011's Lincoln Lawyer and 2012's Magic Mike, the so-called "McConaissance" was officially solidified a year later with Matthew McConaughey's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS, in the biopic Dallas Buyers Club. Despite not having nearly as much screentime, the actor's next performance was just as memorable: a chest-thumping, meme-inducing extended cameo as Mark Hanna in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.

Tom Hanks

Beyond being one of the most beloved actors of all time, Tom Hanks also holds a piece of cinema history: he's one of only two actors to win back-to-back Academy Awards for acting. Yes, that means after taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his heart-wrenching performance as HIV-positive lawyer Andrew Beckett in 1994's Philadelphia, Hanks struck Oscar gold yet again with his very next performance, as the titular lead of 1995's Forrest Gump.

Rami Malek

Rami Malek belted his way to an Oscar as legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the glossy 2019 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. His first post-award performance also revolved around his voice — voice acting, that is, as Malek portrayed a mountain gorilla named Chee-Chee in the 2020 fantasy-adventure film Dolittle, with his future Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. as the titular doc. The family-friendly flick received abysmal reviews from critics, with Courtney Howard of Variety writing: "What should have been an awe-filled adventure quickly curdles into an awful one, thanks to a pedestrian formula and the filmmakers' fixation on fart jokes."

Adrien Brody

In 2003, Adrien Brody made Oscar history when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29 for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist, becoming the youngest actor ever to win in that category. Later that year, he followed up his historic win with the musical crime comedy The Singing Detective, about a mystery writer (Robert Downey Jr.) who relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations. The film scored a 39% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx had one hell of a 2004, serving up not one but two award-worthy performances: He took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as soul great Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray and also received a Best Supporting Actor nod that same year for his work in the crime film Collateral. It would be near-impossible for any performer to hit that kind of stratospheric high again, especially with Foxx's follow-up Stealth — the 2005 military action flick co-starring Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel was dubbed a "stink-bomb" by Roger Ebert.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Acting legend Daniel Day-Lewis deservedly holds the record for the most Best Actor awards ever, with three wins out of six nominations, but his first was for playing Christy Brown, a writer-artist born with cerebral palsy, in the 1989 drama My Left Foot. And though he would later follow that iconic role up by playing famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Bill the Butcher, his immediate next performance was as an Irish-American dentist traveling around Argentina in the forgettable 1989 dramedy Eversmile, New Jersey.

Jack Nicholson

The first of three Academy Awards for the legendary movie star, Jack Nicholson's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest performance as Randle McMurphy nabbed him the Oscar in 1976. Later that year, he would star as cattle rustler Tom Logan opposite Marlon Brandon in the Arthur Penn-helmed Western The Missouri Breaks. Coming hot on the heels of not only his own Oscar win but also Brando's for The Godfather, the film was highly anticipated — however, it failed to live up to those expectations and became a notorious critical and commercial flop.

Marlon Brando

One of the most iconic cinema stars of all time, Marlon Brando was nominated for eight Oscars across his decades-spanning career. He won two, the first being for his electrifying role as prizefighter turned longshoreman Terry Malloy in the 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront, widely considered one of the greatest acting performances of all time. His next role as Napoleon Bonaparte in the historical romance Désirée didn't win him any awards, but Variety reportedly called his performance "a masterful exhibition of thesping" at the time.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman had already solidified himself as a vibrant and vital supporting actor with films like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous, Magnolia and 25th Hour, but his Oscar-winning portrayal of author Truman Capote in 2005's Capote officially upped him to leading man status. He would receive another three Oscar nominations in the years to follow, but his very next role was more of a crowd-pleaser than an awards grab: as arms dealer Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III.

Russell Crowe

Audiences and critics alike were very much entertained by Russell Crowe's performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 Rome-set epic Gladiator, which earned the New Zealand-born star the Best Actor Oscar at the 73rd Academy Awards. Crowe would go up for the same award only a year later, for his portrayal of American mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. in the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind, but he lost to Training Day lead Denzel Washington.

Jean Dujardin

Jean Dujardin rose to international fame with his performance as George Valentin in the 2011 silent movie The Artist — his Oscar win was a historic one, as he was the first French performer to ever take home the Best Actor statue. Despite his newfound Hollywood status, however, the actor-comedian returned to his native France for his next film credit: The Players, a 2012 comedy anthology co-starring Gilles Lellouche, with each man also directing and writing a segment.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage's filmography is a wild ride, from critically acclaimed fare like Raising Arizona, Moonstruck and Adaptation to straight-to-video shlock. Thankfully, his 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas falls into the former category, winning Cage the Best Actor Oscar for his role as alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson. (Funnily enough, it's not one of Nic Cage's favorite Nic Cage movies.) His next movie was the 1996 action thriller The Rock, which also won Cage an award: the Best On-Screen Duo statue at the MTV Movie Awards alongside co-star Sean Connery.

Eddie Redmayne

British star Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in the 2014 biographical drama The Theory of Everything. But that career high was immediately followed by a career-low: a Golden Raspberry Award — a parody award honoring cinematic failures — for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in the galactically goofy 2015 space opera Jupiter Ascending. Even he admitted his performance was bad!

Sidney Poitier

A movie icon through and through, Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier made history in 1964 as the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field. A year later, he moved on from that seminal role with the 1965 Cold War thriller The Bedford Incident, as a civilian photojournalist aboard a U.S. Navy ship that gets into some messy business with a Soviet submarine. Though Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "the whole thing transcends plausibility," other critics clearly disagreed — the movie has an 86% Certified Fresh rating.

Sean Penn

After a trio of Best Actor nominations, Sean Penn's haunting performance as a grieving, vengeful father of a murdered Boston girl in the Clint Eastwood-directed neo-noir Mystic River finally got him the Academy Award in 2004. Later that year, Penn starred in yet another crime thriller, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, based on the story of the POTUS's would-be assassin Samuel Byck in the mid-1970s. The latter film didn't share the award-worthy gravitas of Mystic River, though, per Rotten Tomatoes, critical consensus said: "A fascinating true story and compelling Sean Penn performance are worthy compensations."

Roberto Benigni

Few Oscar wins were as memorable as Roberto Benigni's, what with presenter Sofia Loren's passionate declaration of "Roberto!" to Benigni's literal victory lap up to the stage. The Italian actor-director took the Best Actor trophy in 1998 for the Holocaust tragicomedy Life is Beautiful, making him the first honoree for a non-English language performance. A year later, he would appear in a very different movie: French-Italian-German comedy adventure flick Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar opposite Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier, which was a box office success.

Al Pacino

One of the most influential actors in modern cinema, Al Pacino was nominated for eight Academy Awards — including for The Godfather films, Serpico and the crime drama classic Dog Day Afternoon — before finally taking home the Best Actor statue for playing Frank Slade in 1992's Scent of a Woman. That Oscar win gave viewers an extra critical eye on his next role, as Nuyorican criminal Carlito Brigante in the De Palma crime drama Carlito's Way, however, reviews were largely positive.

Ben Kingsley

It's a daunting thing playing any famous figure in movies based on true stories, especially when the subject is so famous, that they need only one name. Case in point: Gandhi, the 1982 bio epic about the Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough and performed by English actor Sir Ben Kingsley. Luckily for them, the film won Best Picture and Kingsley took home the Best Actor award. Though his next project, the 1983 film adaptation of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, didn't get Oscar acclaim, it was well-received by critics.

Humphrey Bogart

It seems surprising that Humphrey Bogart didn't win the Oscar for a role as iconic as Rick Blaine in the 1942 classic Casablanca. No, it would actually be another eight years until ol' Bogie won Best Actor for The African Queen, starring as Canadian mechanic Charlie Allnut opposite Katharine Hepburn's Methodist missionary Rose Sayer. His post-Oscar follow-up was the 1952 noir Deadline – U.S.A.: Variety said "Bogart gives a convincing performance all the way" as a big-city newspaper editor who exposes a gangster's crimes.

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker was ferocious and formidable as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 historical drama The Last King of Scotland, one of his best performances that got the performer a Best Actor Oscar in '07. Later that year, the actor appeared in the ensemble crime drama The Air I Breathe alongside Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy and Brendan Fraser. Though reviews for the film were overwhelmingly negative, several singled out Whitaker's performance. Annabelle Robertson at Crosswalk wrote: "Whitaker, in particular, is extremely sympathetic in his role—a feat that is all the more outstanding after his turn as the evil dictator in The Last King of Scotland."

Dustin Hoffman

After three Best Actor nods, New Hollywood icon Dustin Hoffman received his first Academy Award for playing half of a couple going through a devastating divorce (alongside an equally great Meryl Streep) in Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980. His next movie role is just as much of a classic: as Michael Dorsey-slash-Dorothy Michaels in the beloved 1982 comedy Tootsie, which nabbed the star yet another Best Actor nomination.

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman was nearly unrecognizable in his prosthetics-heavy performance as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the 2017 historical drama Darkest Hour. The Academy Awards honored the quintessential Oldman role with a Best Actor award, his second nomination after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His next role was just as transformative, if not nearly as acclaimed: Oldman voiced an artificial intelligence in the 2018 sci-fi thriller Tau, which holds a woeful critical rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Laurence Olivier

One of the most celebrated Shakespearean actors in film history, cinema icon Laurence Olivier starred in and directed adaptations of three of the Bard's best-known words, Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955), and earned a Best Actor Oscar for playing the Prince of Denmark. After portraying one of the most famous characters of all time, Olivier switched it up by cameoing as a no-name policeman in the 1951 drama The Magic Box, a "distinguished" bit of stunt casting that The New York Times praised as a delightful "extravagance."

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck's devastating performance as a father grieving the loss of his three children in Kenneth Lonergan's gut-wrenching Manchester by the Sea clearly broke the collective hearts of the Academy, which voted to give the Boston-bred performer the Best Actor award in 2017. That year, he would tackle another exploration of love and loss with the supernatural drama A Ghost Story, which was a hit with critics — Richard Brody of The New Yorker included the title on his list of the decade's best films.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser experienced quite the career comeback when he took the Best Actor Oscar for his acclaimed performance as a morbidly obese, housebound English teacher in the 2022 Darren Aronofsky-directed melodrama The Whale. He kept those high-profile projects going with his next film credit, as attorney W. S. Hamilton in Martin Scorsese's stunning American crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Think of your favorite movie character of all time. There is a good chance that the actor who ended up playing that part is not the first actor the studio approached. See for yourself by taking a look at this list of celebrities who decided to pass on a movie role that would turn out to make cinematic history.

Will Smith (Neo In The Matrix)

It is actually pretty easy for us to picture what the Matrix movies might have been like with Will Smith as Neo. However, the Academy Award winner seems to believe that Keanu Reeves was the better choice to play the chosen one in the mind-bending, dystopian sci-fi movie classic, claiming in a video on his YouTube channel that he would have "ruined it."

Jodie Foster (Princess Leia in Star Wars)

Fresh off her Academy Award-nominated breakthrough role in 1976's Taxi Driver, a teenage Jodie Foster was offered the chance to be a part of the Star Wars movies as Princess Leia Organa. As she revealed to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, the two-time Oscar winner had a contractual obligation to an unnamed Disney movie, allowing Carrie Fisher to win the role.

Tom Hanks (Jerry Maguire In Jerry Maguire)

Tom Hanks was on top of the world with two Oscar wins (for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump) when he was offered to play a sports agent down on his luck in Jerry Maguire. He ended up passing on the eponymous role from Cameron Crowe's 1996 dramedy and later told Access Hollywood (via FandomWire), "I think you look at it now and it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise," who would receive a nod from the Academy for his performance.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Patrick Bateman In American Psycho)

Christian Bale once told GQ that every one of his roles was first offered to Leonardo DiCaprio and one confirmed example is Patrick Bateman in 2000's American Psycho. The future Oscar winner told The Morning Call that he passed on playing the sadistic yuppie because he felt the script “didn’t mean anything in the end," but rumor has it Bale's stepmom, Gloria Steinem, convinced DiCaprio that it would be bad for his post-Titanic, romantic heartthrob reputation at the time.

Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Predator In Predator)

The titular terrifying alien enemy from 1987's Predator looked a lot different when Jean-Claude Van Damme was still in the role, according to THR's oral history. The Belgian actor star actually shot some footage in the original insect-like suit before deciding he would rather not be hidden in his own movie, leading to a redesign of the costume and the casting of 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall.

Jack Nicholson (Michael Corleone In The Godfather)

While we cannot imagine anyone other than Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, Jack Nicholson probably would have been great in the Godfather movies. However, the three-time Oscar winner refused the offer, explaining to Movieline in 2004 (via ScreenRant) that he believed "Italians should play Italians."

John Travolta (Forrest Gump In Forrest Gump)

When speaking with MTV News (via Collider), John Travolta revealed that he had no regrets about turning down the title role of the Best Picture Oscar winner Forrest Gump and it is no wonder why. Not only did Tom Hanks embody the role to Oscar-winning acclaim but Travolta found career-rejuvenating success with Pulp Fiction in 1994 instead.

Burt Reynolds (James Bond In Live And Let Die)

In 2015, Burt Reynolds told USA Today that, when approached to be Sean Connery's replacement in the James Bond films, he believed the public would not accept a 007 with an American accent. However, he would later come to believe that, "It was a stupid thing to say. I could've done it and I could've done it well."

Eddie Murphy (Winston Zeddemore In Ghostbusters)

While appearing on The Tonight Show in 2019, Eddie Murphy was asked by Jimmy Fallon if it is true that he passed on playing Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters. The comedian confirmed that it was true but added that it allowed him the opportunity to lead an even bigger hit from 1984: Beverly Hills Cop.

John Lithgow (Seth Brundle In The Fly)

Jeff Goldblum's iconic role from David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly was previously offered to John Lithgow, who told IndieWire that he said no, not wanting to play "something so grotesque.” Having witnessed Seth Brundle's transformation into a half-human, half-insect in the intense body horror movie, we cannot say we blame him.

Tom Selleck (Indiana Jones In Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

Having already worked with Harrison Ford three times before, George Lucas was reluctant to cast the Han Solo actor as Indiana Jones, opening up the opportunity for a rotation of actors, including Tom Selleck. As he recalled on Today, the actor was forced to pass on 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, due to his commitment to the CBS crime drama, Magnum P.I.

Christopher Lee (Dr. Loomis In Halloween)

While already a horror movie icon at the time for his acclaimed portrayal of Dracula and role in 1973's The Wicker Man, Christopher Lee could have added one of the all-time best horror movies, 1978's Halloween, to his resume. According to The Digital Fix, he would come to regret the decision to pass on the role of Michael Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, who was immortalized by Donald Pleasance instead.

Christina Applegate (Elle Woods In Legally Blonde)

Before Reese Witherspoon made Elle Woods an icon among fictional lawyers in Legally Blonde and among fictional politicians in the sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, the role was offered to Christina Applegate. The former Married... with Children star later explained to Entertainment Tonight that she was afraid of repeating the ditzy blonde but jokes it was a "stupid move."

Emily Blunt (Black Widow In Iron Man 2)

Scarlett Johansson was perfect as Natasha Romanoff but Emily Blunt would have made a killing as the Avenger also called Black Widow. The English actor explained to Howard Stern that she could not originate the role for the MCU in 2010's Iron Man 2 because she was contractually obligated to appear in that year's adaptation of Gulliver's Travels.

Emma Watson (Mia In La La Land)

Playing Mia in 2016's La La Land earned Emma Stone her first Oscar win but the role of the aspiring actor had originally gone to another Emma: Emma Watson. The Harry Potter movies star said in a SiriusXM Town Hall interview (via Us Weekly) that her commitment to Beauty and the Beast and the hard work required to star in the musical led her to pull out.

Gwyneth Paltrow (Rollergirl In Boogie Nights)

Heather Graham made her mainstream breakthrough in 1998's Boogie Nights as "Rollergirl" – a role that was previously offered to Gwyneth Paltrow. The future Oscar winner told Howard Stern (via Us Weekly) that she passed because she feared the role, which required her to completely disrobe and simulate lewd acts on camera, would "kill" her conservative grandfather.

Jennifer Hudson (Precious In Precious)

Jennifer Hudson had previously said in her memoir, I Got This: How I Changed My Ways And Lost What Weighed Me Down, that she turned down the title role of Precious because she did not want to take a role that involved her weight. The Oscar winner later retracted that statement when speaking to The Huffington Post, explaining that Was not interested in what the role, which ultimately went to Gabourey Sibide, would have required her to do at that point in her career.

Matt Damon (Jake Sully In Avatar)

Sam Worthington became a household name when he led James Cameron's astonishingly successful sci-fi epic, Avatar, as Jake Sully – a role previously offered to Matt Damon. The Oscar winner once joked to Access Hollywood that not participating in the 2009 film cost the movie "a lot."

Ian McKellan (Albus Dumbledore In Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban)

The Lord of the Rings movies' Gandalf actor, Sir Ian McKellan, could have added another famous wizard to his resume and become the Harry Potter franchise's new Albus Dumbledore. Instead, the part went to Michael Gambon after, as he told BBC News, McKellan turned it down because he couldn’t “take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me,” referring to the late Richard Harris who was a vocal critic of the actor.

Drew Barrymore (Sidney Prescott In Scream)

Given Drew Barrymore's A-list status in 1996, audiences assumed that she was the lead of Wes Craven's Scream, which could have been the case, as she confirmed on Hot Ones. However, she requested to be killed off in the beginning as Casey Becker, knowing it would shock the audience, paving the way for Neve Campbell to become a Scream Queen in the role of Sidney Prescott.

Angela Bassett (Leticia Musgrove In Monster’s Ball)

Halle Berry became the first Black Best Actress Oscar winner for her performance in Monster's Ball as Leticia Musgrove – a role that was offered to Angela Bassett. According to EW, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star felt the part of a Black call girl was too stereotypical.

Sean Connery (Gandalf In The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring)

Sir Ian McKellan mentions in an oral history about the Lord of the Rings series for The Independent that an earlier choice to play Gandalf the Grey was Sir Sean Connery. New Line Cinema executive Mark Ordesky notes that the former James Bond actor passed on the role of the wizard simply because he "did not get it."

Bette Midler (Annie Wilkes In Misery)

Despite having no qualms about playing an actual evil witch in 1993's Hocus Pocus, Bette Midler did have some reservations about playing Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's Misery from 1990. The actor and singer told Variety that was interested in playing the sadistic nurse because of her violent, unfunny, and irredeemable qualities.

Warren Beatty (Bill In Kill Bill)

In 2003, Quentin Tarantino told BBC that he originally started writing the title role of Kill Bill with Warren Beatty in mind because he wanted to work with him and the Oscar winner was set to play the target of Uma Thurman's vengeful Bride for a bit. However, after realizing that David Carradine was a better fit, followed by consideration of the time commitment and martial arts training involved, the actor and filmmaker amicably agreed to part ways.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Clarice Starling In The Silence Of The Lambs)

Michelle Pfeiffer once told Today's Hoda Kotb (via People) that her reasons for passing on roles in the likes of Pretty Woman and Basic Instinct typically had to do with scheduling conflicts. However, she told The New Yorker she passed on playing Clarice Starling (which ultimately went to Jodie Foster) in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs because the “evil” in the film made her nervous.

Al Pacino (Han Solo In Star Wars)

In his memoir, Sonny Boy, Al Pacino reveals that, before Harrison Ford was cast in Star Wars, he was offered the role of Han Solo. The Oscar winner explains that he could not "make anything out of" George Lucas' script and chose not to play the pilot of the Millennium Falcon.

Bela Lugosi (The Creature In Frankenstein)

According to the book, The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig (via SlashFilm), the star of 1931's Dracula had the opportunity to play two Universal Monsters in the same year, having also been offered to play The Creature in Frankenstein. However, the actor believed such a role was "beneath him," paving the way for Boris Karloff to rise up in the ranks of horror royalty as Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creation.

Haley Lu Richardson (Dani Ardor In Midsommar)

Haley Lu Richardson, known for one of the best M. Night Shyamalan movies, Split, passed on the role of Dani Ardor in Ari Aster's 2019 sophomore effort, Midsommar. The A24 horror masterpiece was ultimately led by Florence Pugh, whom Richardson told Backstage she has nothing but praise for, despite not yet having the courage to watch the movie.

Julia Roberts (Annie Reed In Sleepless In Seattle)

The two most prestigious queens of the rom-com genre would have to be Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan but only one could play Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle. Roberts told InStyle (via ABC News) that she was offered the part but could not do it, adding that Ryan and Tom Hanks "are just such a jewel of a fit in that."

Jamie Lee Curtis (Regan MacNeil In The Exorcist)

Jamie Lee Curtis became horror royalty with her feature film debut in 1978's Halloween but her reign could have begun earlier if not for one thing: her mother, Janet Leigh. Curtis told EW that, when she was asked to audition for Regan MacNeil in 1973's The Exorcist (which would go to Linda Blair), the Psycho star spoke on the then-13-year-old's behalf and refused the offer.

Lee Marvin (Quint In Jaws)

Robert Shaw's performance as Quint in Jaws is nearly as famous as the man-eating shark itself but the English actor was actually not Steven Spielberg's first choice. The filmmaker told Vanity Fair that he previously approached Lee Marvin but the Dirty Dozen star was not interested.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Amber In Clueless)

Elisa Donovan's character in Clueless, Amber, very nearly went to the future star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Adam Schroeder, the co-producer of the 1995 high school movie classic, told Vanity Fair that the actor's commitment to the soap opera All My Children at the time forced her to recede from consideration.

It’s hard being a celebrity in this day and age, as public scrutiny can be high. However, if you’re an actor like Tom Hanks, you're still a beloved star and continue to make quality films. It probably won't surprise fans to know Tom Hanks has just as big a heart as many of his characters. The Catch Me If You Can actor recently revealed a funny story that would certainly suggest that's the case. Apparently, he has an interesting tradition, which has seen him gifting the White House coffee makers for a while.

Yes, you read that correctly. In true Mr. Rogers fashion, the Asteroid City actor has been partaking in that good deed every four years. You would probably never expect it, but Tom Hanks revealed to ETalk that he has been providing the White House Press Corps with coffee makers for over two decades, and there's a specific reason for that:

This has to be the most dad thing ever, and that's saying a lot for the man who's been referred to as "America's Dad." So it totally tracks that the Elvis actor would be gifting coffee makers to the staff in the most important building in the country. I mean, it’s really the thought that counts. For staff to the Commander-In-Chief, there has to be a budget to get better coffee. However, the fact that Tom Hanks noticed it that one time and took it upon himself to always provide speaks volumes about the Sully actor’s character.

When people talk about the actor's legacy, it’s hard to determine what will stand out 50 years down the road. Will it be his swoon worthy rom-com lines from Sleepless in Seattle? Or could it be his iconic sarcastic comebacks from his early career as washed up manager Jimmy Duggan in A League of Their Own? There's also his later box office success A Man Called Otto to consider. Yet the Green Mile actor has his own opinions on his movie legacy, but the most realistic answer is that probably just about all of his films will go down as classics.

All of that aside, I hope people remember Tom Hanks for more than his Oscar-winning portrayal of Forrest Gump -- who, by the way, I think would have also bought the White House coffee makers if necessary. The public should also acknowledge his acts of kindness. You can see Hanks describe his White House coffee tradition in the video below:

Of course, aside from ensuring that the White House has quality cups of joe available, Tom Hanks continues to work. His most recent cinematic outing is the 2024 movie release Here, which reunites him with Forrest Gump co-star Robin Wright and director Robert Zemeckis. He's also working on the upcoming Toy Story 5, which opens in theaters in 2026. That aside, I'm hoping his slate includes another rom-com with Meg Ryan. Let's hope that as booked and busy as he remains, he manages to keep his coffee tradition with the WH alive.

Check out Here in theaters now, and keep your eyes locked on the 2025 movie schedule, in case a Tom Hanks-led film lands there.

One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, Tom Hanks is also one of those Hollywood stars who has made us laugh, cry, and feel just about every other emotion in the book over the past 40-plus years. In that time, the Academy Award-winning actor has played emotionally charged roles in movies like Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, The Green Mile, and a couple of the best romantic comedies of all time.

That said, let’s break down 32 times a Tom Hanks character ripped our hearts out in a movie. Grab the tissues…

Turner Crying Over Hooch’s Body (Turner & Hooch)

You won’t find Turner & Hooch on the list of movies where the dog lives, but you will find it among Tom Hanks’ most emotional movies. This all-time great buddy cop movie features one of the saddest scenes in the actor’s career, specifically where Turner cries over Hooch’s body after his canine partner crosses the rainbow bridge in the final act.

Sam Baldwin Talks About His Late Wife (Sleepless In Seattle)

There’s a pivotal scene early in Sleepless in Seattle in which Tom Hanks’ Sam Baldwin opens his heart to millions of listeners around the country when telling Dr. Marcia Fieldstone about his late wife. The beautiful moment made Meg Ryan’s Annie Reed fall in love with him, and so did we.

Forrest Visits Jenny’s Grave (Forrest Gump)

Forrest Gump visiting Jenny’s grave in the final moments of the eponymous 1994 movie will never not be heartbreaking. It’s one of the few scenes where Tom Hanks’ iconic character lets it all out and opens up to the woman who meant more to him than anything else on the planet.

Joe’s Moonrise Monologue (Joe Versus The Volcano)

Joe Versus the Volcano might not be the first movie that comes to mind when you think of emotional Tom Hanks moments, but there’s a scene in this 1990 comedy where the character, floating aimlessly in the ocean, gives a touching monologue to a rising moon.

Captain Miller’s ‘That’s My Mission’ Speech (Saving Private Ryan)

One of the best World War II movies ever made, Saving Private Ryan has one iconic moment after another. One that strikes a chord better than most is the scene in which Tom Hanks’ Captain Miller gives his “That’s my mission” speech when talking about why his detachment of soldiers is risking life and limb to bring a then-unknown soldier back home.

Andrew Passes Away (Philadelphia)

With his portrayal of Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, Tom Hanks entered the next, and most successful stage of his career. One of the scenes that showed the world that Hanks had “it” was the one where his character succumbs to AIDS in the final moments of this landmark movie. The peace, the acceptance, and that final smile bring the waterworks.

Walt Disney Talks About Forgiveness (Saving Mr. Banks)

Saving Mr. Banks is a triumphant film anchored by outstanding performances from Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers. And no scene best represents their relationship, and Hanks’ commitment to the role is no better than the sequence in which Disney touches on the importance of forgiveness in the form of a story about him and his father back home.

Paul Edgecomb Executes John Coffey (The Green Mile)

One of the best Stephen King adaptations, The Green Mile provided for a number of powerful and emotional scenes, but the sequence involving Tom Hanks’ Paul Edgecomb that is particularly charged is the one in which John Coffey (Micahel Clarke Duncan) is executed. Just keep your eyes on Paul’s face the next time you watch it.

‘I’m Sorry, Betty’ (A League Of Their Own)

Jimmy Dugan is one of the most interesting of Tom Hanks’ great characters, mostly because he’s such a complex individual. One minute he’s yelling about there being no crying in baseball and the next he’s giving one of his players a letter stating that her husband has died in World War II.

Michael Sullivan’s Death (Road To Perdition)

Road to Perdition is a Tom Hanks movie that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough, which is a shame because it features some of his best work. One scene that will never be forgotten is the one in which his character, Michael Sullivan, is shot and killed watching his son play on the beach.

Josh Barricading Himself In A Hotel Room (Big)

Is there anything more heartbreaking than watching Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks) barricading himself in a run-down New York hotel room during his first night as an adult? In that moment, you remember that this isn’t a man, but a child trapped in a man’s body.

Woody And Buzz Say Goodbye (Toy Story 4)

Though they had plenty of ups and downs throughout their various journeys together, Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) were the best of friends. This is what makes the final moments of Toy Story 4, where they take separate paths, so upsetting. It’s impossible to watch this with dry eyes.

Otto Tells Sonya’s Story (A Man Called Otto)

Definitely Tom Hanks’ crankiest character, Otto Anderson is also one of the actor’s most tragic roles. Partway through A Man Called Otto, you find out why Otto is such a grump when he tells the tragic story of losing his unborn child in a wreck that left his wife a paraplegic for the rest of her life.

‘Bubba Was My Best Good Friend…’ (Forrest Gump)

The words “Bubba was my best good friend” don’t just rip out your heart, they smash it into a million little pieces. Forrest Gump talking about the death of his best friend in Vietnam is incredibly heartbreaking and one of the most devastating scenes of the ‘90s.

Wilson Goes Missing (Castaway)

Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) spends the better part of four years stranded on an island with nothing besides a volleyball named Wilson (after the sports equipment brand) for company. But that friendship comes to a sudden and tragic end when Chuck attempts to escape in Cast Away, a daring mission that results in his best friend floating away in the Pacific.

The Opera Scene (Philadelphia)

Andrew Beckett's introduction of Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) to “La Mamma Morta” in Philadelphia has to be one of the most intense, emotional, and beautiful sequences in the entire movie, and it is iconic for all kinds of reasons. The drama, rawness, and beauty of it all is incredibly powerful, to say the least.

Captain Miller’s Death (Saving Private Ryan)

There have been a great number of movie deaths that have broken our hearts, and Captain Miller’s from Saving Private Ryan is right up there. The way Tom Hanks’ character tells Matt Damon to “earn this” while taking in his final breath is astounding all these years later.

Jim Lovell Talking About Going To The Moon (Apollo 13)

Though the scene seems hopeful and innocent enough, watching Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) talk about going to the moon knowing what’s going to happen later on in Apollo 13 is straight-up heartbreaking. He has no idea that his dream will never come true.

‘I Don’t Think You Were Broken’ (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)

Near the end of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, there is a touching interaction between Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) and Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) in which the TV presenter tells the reporter that he never thought he was “broken.” It feels like Mr. Rogers is telling the troubled writer that we’re okay just the way we are in the most reassuring of ways.

The Incinerator Scene (Toy Story 3)

Holy moly, the garbage incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 is a tour de force and one of the most emotional sequences in any Pixar movie. The way the toys, led by Woody, come together and accept their fate when staring death in the eyes is remarkable but also incredibly emotional.

Josh Calls His Mom (Big)

The bond shared by Josh Baskin and his mom, played by Mercedes Ruehl, is the heart and soul of Big. One of the examples of this connection takes place when Josh calls his mom from his phone at work just to hear her voice and say that he’s okay. The raw emotion in their voices is touching, to say the least.

‘I’m Glad It’s You’ (Road To Perdition)

Michael Sullivan reluctantly killing his boss and mentor, John Rooney (Paul Newman) is one of the most unforgettable scenes in Road to Perdition. Neither wanted things to end like this, but the soon-to-be-dead mob boss takes some solace in knowing that the man he treated like a son was the one to do the job.

‘The Hard Is What Makes It Great’ (A League Of Their Own)

The bond shared by Jimmy Dugan and Dottie Hinson is honestly one of the best things about A League of Their Own, and it’s made all the better thanks to the on-screen chemistry shared by Tom Hanks and Geena Davis. One of the best scenes featuring the two comes when Jimmy tries to convince Dottie to stay with the team, stating, “The hard is what makes it great.”

Singing On The Subway (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)

One of the best scenes in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood mostly sees Tom Hanks’ character as a bystander, but it was too great to leave off. Basically, when Mr. Rogers and Lloyd Vogel are having a conversation on the subway, they are interrupted by a group of teenagers who start singing the TV presenter’s signature song. It’s so emotional, so mesmerizing, and so unforgettable.

Finch Teaches Jeff How To Play Fetch (Finch)

Throughout Finch, Tom Hanks’ titular character knows that his time on the planet is limited at best, but things really take a turn in the final act of the film. That’s when Finch teaches Jeff, his trusty robot, Jeff (Caleb Landry Jones) to take care of his dog, Goodyear. It’s a simple yet effective scene, which makes it all the more triumphant.

Forrest Gump Meets His Son (Forrest Gump)

It will never get hold watching Tom Hanks’ character meet his young song (played by Haley Joel Osment) in the final act of Forrest Gump. In that moment, his life changes forever and he’s given a new purpose in life, even if it does lead to Jenny’s tragic death shortly after.

Chuck And Kelly’s Reunion (Cast Away)

Chuck Noland and Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt) were meant to spend the rest of their lives together, but fate had other plans when the former crash-landed on a planet deep in the Pacific Ocean, and that latter, like everyone else, thought he was dead. This is what makes their reunion so heartbreaking. Though they love one another after all these years, life has moved on.

The Library Scene (Philadelphia)

Andrew and Joe’s heartfelt and informative conversation in the library is one of the most remarkable scenes in all of Philadelphia and does a great job of setting up the rest of the movie. The dying former attorney sewing his former partners for discrimination is heartbreaking, but the bond forged by the two legal minds in this moment is outstanding.

Woody Writes Andy A Note (Toy Story 3)

Woody writing down Bonnie’s address so that Andy would take the toys to a new home in Toy Story 3 is enough to make you cry big, ugly tears. Accepting the fact that Andy is about to go off to college and that things will never be the same again is a great choice by the trusty sheriff, but still a tear-jerker.

Captain Phillips’ Rescue (Captain Phillips)

Near the end of Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks’ titular character is rescued in one of the most daring scenes of the past decade-and-a-half, only to break down into an emotional wreck moments later. Watching the adrenaline and shock fade away into the realization that he was so close to death is remarkable.

‘I’m Going Home’ (The Terminal)

Throughout The Terminal, Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) wants nothing more than to get out of JFK International Airport in New York City, and he finally gets that wish in the final moments of this 2004 Steven Spielberg film. All that build-up leads to a fulfilling and emotional scene.

‘Don’t Cry, Shopgirl’ (You’ve Got Mail)

One of the best Tom Hanks rom-com quotes, “Don’t cry, shopgirl” is one of those lines that will probably never be forgotten. Even though it’s the start of Joe Fox’s relationship with Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), it’s hard to not get emotional about the iconic remark.

Robert Zemeckis’ best films were box office hits that helped put the American filmmaker’s name on the map like Forrest Gump, the Back to the Future films, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. With his top box office flick being 1994’s best picture winner Forrest Gump, it would naturally make sense for the team behind the comedy-drama to have brought in the same numbers with their new drama Here. As the Tom Hanks/Robin Wright-led film flopped at the box office, Zemeckis gets candid about his frustration with the film industry as a whole.

Forrest Gump is an example of a movie that won a ton of weekends at the box office. For five weekends, to be exact, it was actually Paramount’s highest-grossing movie with a total gross of $678.2 million until Titanic beat out that record three years later. An interesting BTS fact about Forrest Gump was that lead Tom Hanks sacrificed his salary to receive a portion of the film’s box office, leading him to reportedly take home over $60 million and reach the status of high-grossing actor.

Based on the Richard McGuire graphic novel, Here brought together the cast of Forrest Gump and its director to tell the story of generations of families in a single spot of a home in the course of a century. Unfortunately, a box office hit was not “here” for Here as the Miramax film was only able to rake up $5 million on a budget of reportedly $50 million. After Here flopped, Robert Zemeckis got candid with Deadline about his takeaway from the disappointment:

The Oscar-winning director is known for the technological innovations he’s brought to his movies. Robert Zemeckis combined live-action with animation in Who Framed Robert Rabbit, used digital effects to place Forrest Gump in historical footage, and pioneered motion-capture technology for The Polar Express. All of these movies worked very well at the box office, but you could say that it wasn’t just for the technological elements. There was a lot of heart in these stories.

Unfortunately, critics reviewing Here were all in agreement that the technological advancements of applying a fix-angled method to capture a single room across generations lost the film's story and character development. Plus, seeing a movie about middle-class problems and a dead-end marriage wouldn’t be the type of movie audiences would seek out to escape real-world problems. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave Here a low score of 36% and audiences 58%. It looks like seeing Forrest and Jenny actors back together in a new story wasn’t enough to win critics and audiences over as well as draw viewers in to see the graphic novel adaptation.

Another challenge that came from making Here a success was its failure to land a U.S. distributor from the start. Sources told Deadline that major studios backed out of producing the movie feeling it was too “risky.” Here was financed mainly through foreign sales. Eventually, Sony stepped in to be Here’s U.S. distributor most likely through their link with Tom Hanks’ movies like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and A Man Called Otto. However, marketing for the single-room film was difficult. As much as the film’s trailer screamed Forrest Gump memes, it was hard for film marketers to cut clips that would be appealing to show on talk shows.

Robert Zemeckis makes a good point that the film industry is very “stressful” right now in estimating audience expectations and the rise in distribution and marketing challenges. It appears that Forrest Gump star power wasn’t enough to bring audiences to see Here. As a standalone drama like Zemeckis’ film flopped at $5 million, it proves that big studios would rather back up blockbuster films that would guarantee appeal compared to experimental projects. If you’re still willing to give the 2024 movie release a chance, Here is playing in theaters now.

Take a moment to scan Tom Hanks’ filmography. You aren’t going to find a lot of sequels. The actor did a handful of Dan Brown adaptations, playing the symbologist Robert Langdon, and of course has been a staple of the Toy Story franchise as the voice of Woody. But Hanks usually plays characters that reach a natural conclusion to their arc. Sometimes that means death. Other times, it just means that the story has run its course. That appears to be the case with Forrest Gump, a powerhouse drama that swept the Oscars and earned Hanks his second Best Actor trophy. For years, there was talk of a sequel, Forrest Gump 2, but Hanks himself spoke to CinemaBlend to set the record straight.

Forrest Gump has been a topic of conversation lately because Tom Hanks has reunited with Robin Wright and his Gump director, Robert Zemeckis, for the endearing drama Here, which we reviewed on the site. As part of his promotional tour, Hanks stopped by CinemaBlend’s official ReelBlend podcast and talked about how close they got to actually making Forrest Gump 2. As you might imagine, the studio was high on the idea. But as Hanks told ReelBlend:

How can you not admire Tom Hanks for that level of integrity? It would be so easy for him to chase after guaranteed money for a sequel that the audience thinks it wants. But as the main face of a franchise, and one of the top creatives driving the bus forward, he and Zemeckis (and screenwriter Eric Roth) understood that the story they wanted to tell was finished. Even with the existence of a book as a source, there was no need to keep pushing that rock down the road.

And yet, the more we talked with Hanks about the industry, the more we learned that if they made Forrest Gump today, the possibility of a sequel might have been much stronger. Hanks went on to tell ReelBlend:

And he’s right. Well, sort of. Tom Hanks remains one of the last actors who can help push a movie like Here into theaters, with no guarantee of a sequel. (They’d have to call it There, right?) But scan the release calendar and you see Denzel Washington, Hanks’ co-star in Philadelphia and one of our all-time greats, appearing in Gladiator 2. Because, as Hanks says, IP is absolute king.

Catch the full Tom Hanks interview on ReelBlend now:

Here is in theaters now. It’s well worth your time to go see it at the movies.

Trying to process the sheer number of classic films that Tom Hanks has appeared in is overwhelming. You almost have to break them up into genres, focusing on his Oscar-winning dramatic work, his crowd-pleasing comedies, and the Toy Story franchise, which deserves its own category. Hanks reunites with his Forrest Gump co-star and director, Robin Wright and Robert Zemeckis, for the groundbreaking narrative achievement Here. It’s available in theaters for you to go see right now. And as part of his press tour, Hanks stopped by CinemaBlend’s official ReelBlend podcast to break down the movie, his illustrious career, and the moment from his films that made him burst into tears.

We probably have our own lists of the moments from a Tom Hanks movie that made us sob. Again, I go back to the Toy Story franchise, or the moment he leaves Wilson the volleyball behind in the magnificent Cast Away (also directed by Bob Zemeckis). As we spoke with Hanks himself, though, he brought up a moment from Ron Howard’s film, Apollo 13, that moved him to tears, and we can completely understand why.

We were speaking specifically about the use of film score to enhance the emotions of a scene. The great Alan Silvestri provides the score for Here, and has worked with Hanks and Zemeckis countless times. When talking about score, though, Hanks brought up this moment, telling ReelBlend:

James Horner is another one of our all-time greats, a master composer we lost way too soon when he died in 2015 at the age of 61. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Apollo 13, though his only Oscar win was for Titanic, which he did with James Cameron. Here’s the re-entry piece that he composed, which Hanks mentioned to ReelBlend:

Personally, I found Tom Hanks’ newest movie, Here, to be incredibly moving as it follows the passage of time – and the history of one particular family – over the course of decades. The film breaks ground with its visual presentation of the source material, a graphic novel by Richard McGuire. But it’s the emotional connections made by Hanks and Robin Wright, and some stellar work from Paul Bettany, that really anchored the stories in Here for me. As mentioned, the movie is in theaters now. And we also have a guide to all the upcoming 2024 movies that are still on their way the rest of this year.

Robert Zemeckis’ legacy in the film industry is one that is accentuated by his ambition to advance the medium and attempt things that others aren’t even thinking about let alone trying. From the blend of live-action and animation in Who Framed Roger Rabbit to the split production of Cast Away to his run ensconced in the world of performance capture (The Polar Express, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol), his work traditionally doesn’t settle for simple storytelling; he has demonstrated a passion for showing audiences something on the big screen that they’ve never seen before.

That will never go underappreciated, as that kind of creativity will forever be necessary in the art form, and his latest, Here, is very much part of that tradition. It’s a non-linear narrative that takes place across eons and makes heavy use of de-aging/aging effects, but most significantly, the film unfolds from a fixed perspective, with one angle capturing events that take place in a single spot across thousands of years. Adapting the visual style of the graphic novel of the same name by writer/artist Richard McGuire, the film is undeniably a standout filmmaking effort and a work made with great skill – but the hook proves to not have the staying power necessary for a 104 minute runtime. The commitment to the aesthetic is by itself awesome, but what’s actually unfolding in front of the static camera lacks the same kind of impressiveness, and it takes a major toll on the overall experience.

Written by Robert Zemeckis and Eric Roth, who memorably last collaborated on 1994’s Forrest Gump, Here’s narrative is constantly jumping through time, with mini arcs set before the founding of America, during the Revolutionary War and both the early 20^th and 21^st centuries, but the principal focus is on the Young family, which moves into the house located on the movie’s single spot in the aftermath of World War II.

Al (Paul Bettany) and Rose Young (Kelly Reilly) raise their family in the home, including their oldest son Richard (Tom Hanks), and after a teenage Richard meets Margaret (Robin Wright), the girl who proves to be the love of his life, they inherent the property and raise a family of their own.

On a technical level, Here is an impressive achievement.

First and foremost, Here is a notable filmmaking experiment, and there is an argument to be made for its success simply it’s the movie’s coherency: in addition to it regularly flipping back and forth through time, there are also on-screen boxes that give windows into the past or future, and while less masterful hands could render this aesthetic a confusing mess, Zemeckis has earned his reputation as one of the best modern directors. You mentally adjust to what it’s doing through the early scenes, and once you understand its rhythm, you can easily understand when everything is taking place and the larger context of the period.

The age changing of the characters proves to be a mixed bag. There are some scenes when it’s wowing how Tom Hanks and Robin Wright look like their younger selves, but there are other points where it’s a distraction (not unlike Robert Zemeckis’ battle with the uncanny valley in his performance capture films). On the whole, however, it is more convincing than the aging of Al and Rose, as strong performances from Paul Bettany and Kelly Reilly can’t make up for unconvincing physicality.

Here operates as though its aesthetics make up for its generic story... but they don't.

As I’ve hopefully expressed here, it’s easy to be grateful for Zemeckis’ ambition with Here, but there proves to be a fatal flaw in the design. While it’s appreciated that the filmmaker would try something so challenging, it doesn’t compensate for a generic story about an ordinary American family. There’s conflict introduced – like Richard being forced to abandon his dreams of being an artist so that he can support his family, and Margaret’s desire for their family to move and get their own home – but there isn’t anything that is unique or particularly compelling, and their impact is undercut by the film’s breezy pacing. Beyond the fact that they are there to follow, there’s nothing about the Young family that demands true emotional investment from the audience.

The irony is that the film has much more interesting material in the subplots to which it pays less attention – as Here bounces to different time periods before returning to the Youngs. This includes Lee (David Lynn) and Stella Beekman (Ophelia Lovibond), who live in the house before Al and Rose and are a freewheeling couple with a big ambition: to sell Lee’s design for a new kind of reclining living room chair. Before them there is John (Gwilym Lee) and Pauline Marter (Michelle Dockery), who fight constantly because the latter doesn’t feel the former’s hobby flying planes is safe, and after them are the Devon (Nicholas Pinnock) and Helen Harris (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and their son Justin (Cache Vanderpuye), who live in the house during the whole mess that was 2020.

All of these stories and others are better than what the movie mostly focuses on, and that means having the weird cinematic experience of being disappointed when Tom Hanks and Robin Wright are back on screen.

Without much emotional weight to speak of beyond its very broad and generic swings, Here is a style over substance exercise for Robert Zemeckis. This isn’t to say that it doesn’t have value, as the style is impressive – but it doesn’t leave much of an impact. It’s a movie worth seeing once just to witness the way it is able to operate and respect the craft that went into it, but in the immediate aftermath of my screening, the idea of ever revisiting it feels unnecessary.

Tom Hanks and Robin Wright cemented themselves within the history of cinema when they starred in Robert Zemeckis’ acclaimed dramedy Forrest Gump, which is one of the best ‘90s movies. While many were captivated by their performances, viewers also just relished the sheer chemistry between the two actors. Now, over 30 years later, Hanks and Wright have reunited with Zemeckis for the 2025 movie release Here. Critics just screened the film and, so far, they don’t seem to be too high on it. In fact, many are making the same complaints.

Robert Zemeckis’ latest film was screened at AFI Fest this past week, after which the reviews from critics started pouring in. As teased in Here’s trailer, the filmmaker took a unique approach to the movie in that the camera remains in a single position the entire time. With this, audiences see how the space changes throughout the passage of time, from the prehistoric age to the present. It’s during that stretch that a house is built and multiple families inhabit the space, with their biggest moments being chronicled as time goes on.

Many of the reviews that have surfaced so far have criticized the Back to the Future star’s story as well as his creative decision for the film’s visual approach. Richard McGuire's 2014 graphic novel of the same name (from which the film is adapted) also limited the action to a single perspective per panel. However, THR’s David Rooney argues that this method does not work for the feature film:

Another technical aspect of the movie is that it employs de-aging technology used in The Irishman, Gemini Man and other movies. It’s most prominently used on Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, who play couple Richard and Margaret Young, respectively. Peter Debruge of Variety chided the use of the tech while also sharing less-than-positive thoughts on the strength of the film’s characters:

Based on what IGN’s Siddhant Adlakha had to say, he also believes this is far from one of Robert Zemeckis’ best movies. While discussing the movie (which also stars the likes of Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly and Michelle Dockery), Adlakha also expressed dissatisfaction with the de-aging tech and the unconventional placement of the camera:

There are some critics who had positive thoughts to share on the drama film, though. Pete Hammond of Deadline acknowledged that the Cast Away helmer’s latest has its flaws. However, he ultimately appreciated the efforts from the Oscar-winning director and his cast and crew:

Nevertheless, it feels as though the unusual camera positioning and jarring de-aging techniques were too much for a number of pundits. Mashable’s Kristy Puchko commended Robert Zemeckis for taking some big swings but also echoed some of the sentiments of her peers in regard to the not-so-smooth technical aspects of the film:

Those who’ve been waiting to see a reunion between the lead actors and director of Forrest Gump – which is streamable with a Paramount+ subscription may be disappointed to hear the majority of these reactions. Still, you’ll ultimately want to check this flick out for yourself to form your own opinion. And, who knows, if you’re a fan of Robin Wright’s and Tom Hanks’ movies, you may get something out of the film. With that, you can see Here when it opens in theaters on November 1.