Tom Hanks names his four favourite movies of all time

(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)

Film Thu 14th Sep 2023 17.45 BST

You have to be cut-throat when selecting the greatest American actors of contemporary cinema, with the likes of Will Smith, Jim Carrey and Sandra Bullock likely missing out in favour of industry stalwarts Meryl Streep, Robin Williams and Tom Hanks. Still very much active in contemporary cinema, Hanks most recently collaborated with the great Wes Anderson for 2023’s Asteroid City.

Rising to popularity in the early 1980s thanks to his effortless charisma and Hollywood charm, Hanks’ first significant success came in the form of the 1988 coming-of-age comedy Big. Helmed by Penny Marshall, the film earned Hanks his first Oscar nomination for ‘Best Leading Actor’, five years before he would take home his very first Academy Award for the seminal 1994 film Philadelphia. 

Ever since, Hanks has become a staple of the industry, collaborating with some of the industry’s greatest minds, including Joe Dante, Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, Steven Speilberg, Frank Darabont and Sam Mendes. With two Academy Awards to his name and a whole load of box office earnings, the actor has also become a favourite among movie fans across the world. 

In a recent conversation with Letterboxd, he treated fans to his four favourite movies, naming an eclectic list of classics. 

First on his list, Hanks chooses “without a doubt”, the iconic 1968 Stanley Kubrick sci-fi 2001 A Space Odyssey. Speaking about the movie, he states: “I still watch it a couple of times a year…I could walk you through 2001 A Space Odyssey and not stop talking once during the entire film so I don’t know if you want to have that experience?”

Although it seems as though nothing can top Kubrick’s classic, Hanks’ second choice goes to the 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives, starring Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright. “I think that is the best film about WWII in the generation who fought it…I think that’s an incredible Motion Picture,” the Saving Private Ryan star told the publication. 

Coming in at number three is The Beatles movie A Hard Day’s Night from 1964, featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. “Seeing that in 1964, I was eight,” the actors started, “and to see The Beatles be so fresh and hilarious and funny with the greatest music of any generation, that is definitely number three”.   

Bookending his list is the X-rated ‘Best Picture’ winner Midnight Cowboy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, which tells the story of a man who heads to the city to find prosperity and finds an unlikely friend across the way. “That movie is locked into its era, very much so,” Hanks stated, “It’s about what drives us and it has two magnificent performances that any young man if they saw wanted to play”.

Take a look at the full list of Tom Hanks’ favourite movies below.

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