Dallas County Living Well Magazine January/February 2019 | Page 27

A
TOM HANKS
America’s Favorite Neighbor
fter nearly four decades in the spot-
light, Tom Hanks still exudes a youth-
ful affability. It’s a rare quality, espe-
cially for a longtime actor with such
an illustrious Hollywood resume.
It was his boyish charm that helped Hanks land his first role in the early 1980s television
comedy series Bosom Buddies. The breakout movies Splash and Big followed, endear-
ing Hanks to a worldwide audience. Hanks’ amiable boy-next-door persona has endured
despite his growing influence as one of America’s most beloved actors. Tackling movies
as varied as Sleepless in Seattle, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, The Da Vin-
ci Code, Captain Phillips, and The Post, the 62-year old has been nominated for the best
actor Oscar five times. Two Academy Awards––for Forrest Gump and Philadelphia––are
among his impressive list of accolades. Meanwhile, Hanks’ films have grossed billions
worldwide, squarely placing him among the top five highest-grossing actors ever.
Adept at playing seemingly common men in uncommon circumstances, it’s no surprise that
Hanks will soon slip into the famous red cardigan of one
of America’s most beloved neighbors—Fred Rogers. The
creator, composer, producer, head writer, and host of the
I TRY TO DO WHAT
preschool television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,
I CALL THE THREE E’S
Rogers’ Emmy-nominated PBS series influenced genera-
tions of children. Aired from 1968 to 2001, it was one
––EDUCATE,
of the longest-running children’s shows of all time.
ENTERTAIN, AND
ENLIGHTEN.
It’s an ideal role for Hanks, who’s played the good guy in
most of his beloved roles. When asked why he doesn’t play
the villain more often in movies, Hanks explained to The Talks
website, “I sometimes have a problem with the logic of bad guys. I’m not interested in playing
some evil guy for the sake of evil. This is one of the standard movie formats: You have the in-
credibly good protagonist and the incredibly evil antagonist. They do battle and guess what?
The protagonist always wins. I am not intrigued by that. I want to understand the motivation.”
What motivates Hanks is a passion for story telling and an adherence to basic hu-
man decency. He credits attention to courtesy and discipline for his success. “What I
do is glamorous and has an awful lot of white-hot attention placed on it. But the actu-
al work requires the same discipline and passion as any job you love doing, be it as
a very good pipe fitter or a highly creative artist,” Hanks explained to Oprah when
the two celebrated personalities sat down during an interview for O Magazine.
“I try to do what I call the three E’s––educate, entertain, and enlighten. If you don’t entertain, no
one will show up. But you also have to educate, because people want to discover specific things
about a world unlike their own––whether it’s how hard it is to go to the moon or how scary it is to
be on Omaha Beach,” he explained to Oprah. “A story also has the opportunity to enlighten us,
Continued, on page 26
DALLAS COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
25