9 Milestones in the Evolution of Tom Hanks

In this weekend's Larry Crowne, Tom Hanks plays a hardworking retail employee who is laid off suddenly because he doesn't have a college degree. How did Hanks transform himself from a smooth-talking cross-dresser named Buffy to a dorky community college student who dresses in Dockers and crosses campus on a scooter?

You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success. So let's look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of America's most likable actor, Tom Hanks.

Bosom Buddies (1980)

Once upon a time, there was a California native named Tom Hanks. He really liked acting, so he took acting classes at California State University Sacramento and afterward, made the pilgrimage to New York City where he scored roles in a low-budget horror film He Knows You're Alone and a long-forgotten television movie called Mazes and Monsters. Shortly after, at the age of 24, Hanks landed the lead in an ABC pilot called Bosom Buddies so Hanks made the pilgrimage back to California and stayed on the series for two seasons (until it was canceled) as Kip "Buffy" Wilson, an advertising professional who cross-dresses so that he can live in an affordable all-women hotel.

Splash! (1984)

After guest-starring on an episode of Happy Days in 1982, Ron Howard contacted the actor and asked him to read for a supporting character in his upcoming fantasy rom-com. The actor ended up getting the lead, a New York City bachelor who falls in love with a mermaid played by Daryl Hannah. Although Hanks only received mediocre reviews from critics (Roger Ebert said that he was "conventionally handsome and passably appealing, and he would do in a secondary role"), the film was a box office success and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay the next year.

Big (1988)

It wasn't until four years later after a string of so-so films like The Money Pit and Bachelor Party, that Tom Hanks: The Movie Star was born. For his role in Penny Marshall's classic coming-of-age rom-com as a young boy who magically becomes an adult overnight, Hanks received his first Academy Award nomination.

Sleepless in Seattle(1993)

Shortly after working with Marshall again on A League of Their Own and creating smoldering chemistry with Meg Ryan onscreen in Joe Versus the Volcano, Hanks and Ryan paired up again for this seminal '90s rom-com from Nora Ephron. Inspired by An Affair to Remember, Hanks starred as a lovelorn widower whose conniving son sets him up with talk radio caller. The movie grossed over $225 million worldwide and its success inspired the stars and director to collaborate again on 1998s equally charming rom-com You've Got Mail.

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