Just How Lucky is Lucky Guy's Tom Hanks? Ranking the Oscar Winner's Memorable Movie Roles
Tom Hanks makes his Broadway debut on April 1 in Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy, a show whose title is quite fitting for the famed actor. Life has been pretty good to Hanks: He's evolved from a sitcom star forced to wear a dress and giant wig each week to becoming a revered two-time Oscar-winning actor/director/producer whose films have grossed a collective $8.5 billion worldwide. But what about the many lovable characters he's played during his 30-year career? Broadway.com decided to rank 10 of his best known movie leads on a scale of 1 (no luck whatsoever) to 10 (the luckiest of lucky guys). See if you agree with our assessments.
Robert Langdon (The Da Vinci Code, 2006)
Despite his unfortunate haircut, Robert Langdon is pretty bad-ass. Not only is the Harvard professor a code-cracking genius, but he survives every one of Dan Brown’s ridiculous plot twists: He’s wrongfully accused of murder, fights off a creepy self-mutilating monk and learns the incredible secrets of a centuries old organization. Plus his new girlfriend turns out to be a descendant of Jesus Christ? Somebody up there likes that dude.
Luck Level: 10 out of 10 vandalized Mona Lisas
Josh Baskin (Big, 1988)
Having your life turned upside down by creepy carnival attraction Zoltar sounds terrifying, but when 12-year-old Josh Baskin is transformed into an adult, he moves into an awesome Manhattan apartment (complete with trampoline and vending machines), lands a job at a toy company and hooks up with Elizabeth Perkins. Eventually Josh reverts to his adolescent self, but with plenty of knowledge that will come in handy once he grows up for real.
Luck Level: 9 out of 10 giant FAO Schwarz piano keys
Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump, 1994)
Alabama native Forrest pays attention to his mother's chocolate-drenched wisdom to overcome his mental and physical challenges, emerging as a college football star who earns the Medal of Honor, becomes a ping pong prodigy, falls in love with Robin Wright and launches a tourist-bait seafood empire. Plus, the movie scored Best Actor Oscar number two for Hanks.
Luck Level: 8 out 10 park benches
Allen Bauer (Splash, 1984)
Food vendor Allen is so clumsy, he falls overboard in the ocean twice, but he’s lucky enough to be greeted underwater by a beautiful mermaid who cares enough to track him down in New York City. Did we mention said hot gilled gal is (frequently naked) Daryl Hannah?! After plenty of makeout sessions with the ocean dwelling mermaid, Allen happily joins her under the sea—presumably on a permanent basis.
Luck Level: 7 out of 10 mermaid fins
Sam Baldwin (Sleepless in Seattle, 1993)
Hanks’ first big screen collaboration with Lucky Guy playwright Nora Ephron once again paired him with frequent screen companion Meg Ryan. Set in the pre-Catfish era, the movie finds widower Sam Baldwin following his runaway nine-year-old son…to meet a complete stranger who fell in love with him over the radio…on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day…and somehow nobody gets murdered. Hey, it beats Match.com.
Luck Level: 6 out of 10 sweetheart candies
Woody (Toy Story, 1995)
After years of reigning as top toy in Andy’s bedroom, cowboy Woody gets knocked down a peg once sleek space ranger Buzz Lightyear arrives. The pull-string sheriff escapes sadistic toy-tormentor Sid and launches himself and Buzz onto a moving truck via rocket, learning the true meaning of friendship along the way…although there was that time somebody poisoned the waterhole and he found a snake in his boot.
Luck Level: 5 out of 10 puffy wallpaper clouds
Jim Lovell (Apollo 13, 1995)
Voyaging where few men have gone before, astronaut Jim Lovell should be on the adventure of a lifetime as he blasts off on America's third lunar mission. But when the spacecraft suffers massive damage in an explosion, the captain may not only never set foot on the moon, his return to his family on Earth is seriously in doubt. Fortunately, Houston is able to fix the problem and bring Lovell and his crew home safely.
Luck Level: 4 out of 10 freeze-dried ice cream packets
Walter Fielding Jr. (The Money Pit, 1986)
Ready to start life with his girlfriend Anna (Shelley Long), Walter purchases a sprawling estate that needs a just bit of sprucing up. Turns out under all that white paint, the dream home is a dilapidated mess with shoddy wiring, deteriorating walls and crumbling floors. Home renovations can test even the happiest relationship, and Walter and Anna are no exception. At least their house isn't haunted.
Luck Level: 3 out of 10 Home Depot gift cards
Viktor Navorski (The Terminal, 2004)
Many travelers get flustered by 30-minute flight delays, but that’s nothing compared to the airport hell of Viktor Navorski. When the borders of his home country Krakozhia are closed due to a military coup, Viktor is forced to live in JFK for nine months. Sure, he makes friends with the employees and sparks a romance with Catherine Zeta-Jones, but scrounging for quarters and shaving in an airport men's room can't be fun.
Luck Level: 2 out of 10 invalid passports
Chuck Noland (Cast Away, 2000)
Air travel is clearly an issue for characters played by Hanks: After his plane goes down over a remote island, Chuck Noland spends years in solitude, with a blood-stained volleyball as his only companion. Eventually he sets out for home on a makeshift raft. He doesn’t get swallowed by the sea, but upon his homecoming, Chuck learns his fiancée assumed he was dead and married a new guy. What a kick in the (volley) balls.
Luck Level: 1 out 10 waterlogged FedEx boxes
