Denton County Living Well Magazine January/February 2019 | Page 12

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
SPOTLIGHT
RIGHT: Tom Hanks in Forest
Gump, 1994.
BELOW: Tom Hanks starring as
Sully in the biographical drama
Sully: Miracle on the Hudson
directed by Clint Eastwood.
From page 9
because as we connect the extraordinary moments on film
with the ordinary moments of our lives, we ask ourselves,
‘What am I going to do the next time I’m scared? What
would it be like to say goodbye to my family for the last
time?’ Despite the fact that these movies are big engines
of commerce, the characters remind us that we’re part of a
greater humanity and that we can actually affect the world
by the choices we make once we leave the theater.”
According to The Guardian, Hanks is famously uxori-
ous, and his reliability as an actor is something that,
from his first marriage at the age of 21, he has pegged
to the stability of his home life. Hanks told the news-
paper if he hadn’t married and had kids early, he
might have had a tougher time handling his fame.
Married to actress Samantha Lewes from 1978 to 1987, the
couple had a son and daughter before divorcing. He married
actress Rita Wilson, with whom he has two children, in 1988.
“Other than moments of total terror, what it (marriage)
provided me with was a nut that I had to provide: there’s
three of us, now, and I need x numbers of dollars in or-
der for us, literally, to survive,” said Hanks of his first
union. “I need to make enough to be able to go to the
dentist and fix my car, and as soon as I get on a de-
cent dental plan, then the rest is the high country.”
Hanks shared with W Magazine’s Lynn Hirschbert
the moment he knew he’d made it in Hollywood: “I
didn’t feel as though I made it until I realized that I
could make my house payments for two years, and
if my car broke down I’d be able to get it fixed.
And that wasn’t until, uh, going to say 1983.”
While Hanks admits that he’s now rich, according to
10
DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
the aforementioned article, he is also extremely careful
with money. “I read a long time ago that you can’t have
debt. If you’re in debt, you can’t say no.” With that in
mind, Hanks has stored away enough money so that if
everything stops tomorrow, he won’t have to worry.
Life is never free from trials and tribulations, howev-
er––even for Tom Hanks. In 2013, Hanks revealed his
type 2 diabetes diagnosis, telling then Late Show host
David Letterman, “I went to the doctor, and he said,
‘You know those high blood sugar numbers you’ve been
dealing with since you were 36? Well, you’ve grad-
uated! You’ve got type 2 diabetes, young man.’”
Although his doctor had previously warned him about his ele-
vated blood sugar numbers, like many Americans, Hanks ig-
nored his doctor’s medical advice. It’s something he regrets.