Tom Hanks Characters and Movies Quiz

Answer: Cast Away

A systems analyst for FedEx, this 2000 movie sees Hank's Chuck Noland troubleshooting an issue overseas only to end up in a cargo plane crash in the Pacific. The only survivor, he needs to fend for himself on an otherwise uninhabited island. Hanks was, once again, nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, this being his fifth nomination for the award.

He did, however, win a Golden Globe for the role.

Answer: The Terminal

Hailing from the fictional land of Krakozhia, Hanks' character, Viktor Navorski, finds himself in JFK International Airport only to discover that he's trapped there while his country suffers through political upheaval. Forced to remain in the airport terminal indefinitely and unable to step foot on U.S. soil, he spends his time keeping busy and meeting the passers-through.

This movie was Hanks' fifth film collaboration with director Steven Spielberg.

Answer: Philadelphia

Hanks plays Andrew Beckett in this award-winning movie for which he won his first Academy Award for 'Best Actor in a Leading Role'. In this film, Hanks plays a bright, up-and-coming, gay, young lawyer who is fired from his job due to his AIDS diagnosis.

The movie co-starred Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, and Mary Steenburgen and was also nominated for Best Picture (and four other Oscars).

Answer: Saving Private Ryan

John Miller is Hanks' character in this gripping WWII drama where he plays the Captain of eight men ordered to go behind enemy lines in Normandy to collect a single man. Hanks and the rest of the cast ended up contributing to one of the highest-grossing films of 1998. Earning nearly $500,000,000 USD in the box office, "Saving Private Ryan" would get Hanks another Best Actor nomination (and another nod for Best Picture), but win five other awards instead, including one for director Steven Spielberg.

Answer: The Green Mile

Leading the cast in this Oscar-nominated Stephen King adaptation, Tom Hanks plays a prison guard who comes to understand the true gifts of one of his death row inmates (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) who, as it appears, may have a much more complex story than presumed.

The film, directed by Frank Darabont, also starred James Cromwell, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell, and Gary Sinise and was nominated for four Oscars (including Best Picture).

Answer: Big

Though Hanks doesn't appear until partway through the movie, he's the result when young Josh Baskin makes a wish on a Zoltar fortune-telling machine and manages to become 'big' in the 1988 comedy "Big". Hanks himself plays the adult version of Josh, portraying him with a kid mind and allowing him to make his way up the chain on the corporate side of a toy company.

His role in "Big" would net him his first nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor.

Answer: A League of Their Own

Tom plays Jimmy Dugan in this 1992 sports comedy, and is accompanied by Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell amongst others. Tom plays an overweight, alcoholic baseball coach for an all-women professional baseball team, the Rockford Peaches. Famously, his trademark line from the film was "There's no crying in baseball!" Directed by Penny Marshall, the movie was a box office hit.

Answer: The Da Vinci Code

Though a Professor of Religious Symbology by trade, Robert Langdon, as portrayed by Tom Hanks in not one, but three movies based on the novels of Dan Brown (and directed by Ron Howard), ends up being the man to crack all the complex codes. In "The Da Vinci Code" (2006) specifically, he and French police analyst Sophie Neveu (played by Audrey Tatou) unearth an unforeseeable secret that could rock the foundations of Christianity, and what that means is a bit of gallivanting through European museums.

Answer: Elvis

Appearing in the 2022 Baz Luhrman biopic "Elvis", Hanks filled the shoes of Colonel Tom Parker, Presley's real-life manager. The story ends up being told by Hanks' Parker on his deathbed, acting as the film's framing narrative. Much of the film follows the two of them-- Presley and Parker-- as they navigate the music industry with Elvis' overwhelming fame and Parker's manipulations in the forefront. Austin Butler, who played Elvis, was nominated for an Oscar for his role.

Answer: The 'Burbs

Taking to the suburbs in this 1989 film, Tom Hanks plays homeowner Ray Peterson who, receiving new neighbours, starts to pry a bit too much into the activities going on next door and finds that the weirdos on the other side of the fence may be much more nefarious. "The 'Burbs" was filmed by director Joe Dante as a black comedy on suburban life and, in addition to Hanks, starred Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, and Corey Feldman.