NashvilleGab - The 3 movies Tom Hanks says he had the best time making

Tom Hanks turns another year older this month, and fans are reflecting on his remarkable career. Few actors in modern Hollywood have built a resume as varied or as beloved as his. From comedy to war epics to animated classics, Hanks has done nearly everything.

Yet when asked to name his personal favorites, his answer surprised many people. He did not pick his most famous films or his award-winning roles. Instead, he chose three movies based on the joy he felt while making them.

A career built on range

Tom Hanks has worked in film and television for more than four decades. After early television appearances and his starring role in the sitcom Bosom Buddies, he gained wider recognition through comedies including Splash and Big before establishing himself as a leading dramatic actor.

His varied filmography includes roles as a World War II Army captain in Saving Private Ryan, an astronaut in Apollo 13, a Sheriff Woody in the Toy Story films, and a plane-crash survivor in Cast Away. That range has made Hanks one of the most recognizable American actors of his generation.

A summer of baseball fun

When Hanks appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast, he ranked his personal favorites differently than most fans expected. Topping his list was the 1992 sports drama A League of Their Own. He explained that his ranking came from personal experience rather than box office success or critical praise from reviewers.

The film simply gave him one wonderful summer he never forgot. Hanks spent months playing baseball, eating turkey dogs, and bonding closely with his co-stars in Indiana. He described taking infield practice and enjoying long summer days at Wrigley Field with the entire cast.

His entire family still talks fondly about that special experience decades later. For Hanks, the memories clearly mattered far more than the film’s box-office performance.

Tom Hanks at the People's Choice Awards. — *Source: s_bukley/Depositphotos*

Finding joy in isolation

The second film on his list was the 2000 survival drama Cast Away, directed by Robert Zemeckis. The movie required Hanks to lose significant weight and grow a full beard for realism. His character survives alone on a deserted island after a devastating plane crash at sea.

It remains one of the most physically demanding roles of his entire career. Despite the isolation his character faced onscreen, Hanks recalled the filming process as full of genuine adventure. Production took the cast and crew to remote locations, including two separate trips to Fiji.

He brought his whole family along during filming, which made the experience feel especially memorable. Hanks described the shoot as one continuous adventure rather than difficult, tedious work.

Playing 6 characters

Hanks’s third selection was the 2012 science-fiction drama Cloud Atlas. Directed by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, the film interweaves 6 stories set across different periods. Hanks portrays 6 characters, including Dr. Henry Goose, Isaac Sachs, and Zachry Bailey.

The ambitious production featured an ensemble cast that played multiple roles across the interconnected narratives. Hanks later described the project as a deeply collaborative undertaking in which the performers and filmmakers committed themselves to unusually challenging material.

Fun fact: Hanks received the U.S. Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award for his work on Saving Private Ryan, according to KSAT.

Awards and industry recognition

While these three films hold personal meaning, they are not the movies that earned Hanks his greatest honors. He has won 2 Academy Awards, both for Best Actor, and 7 Primetime Emmy Awards over the years. Those wins came from performances very different from his stated personal favorites.

His most acclaimed roles often carried much heavier emotional weight and depth. His Oscar wins came for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, two films that tackled difficult subjects with real sincerity. Philadelphia addressed the AIDS crisis at a time when Hollywood rarely explored the topic openly.

Forrest Gump combined humor with American history in a way that audiences warmly embraced. Both roles reshaped how critics and fans alike viewed his range as an actor.

Roles that defined a legacy

Tom Hanks built a career filled with iconic performances beyond his personal favorites and award-winning roles. In “Big“, he played a child trapped in an adult’s body, earning his first Academy Award nomination and proving he could blend comedy with genuine emotional depth. The film remains a beloved classic, while his role as Sheriff Woody in the “Toy Story” franchise introduced him to generations of younger audiences.

Few actors have stayed relevant across so many generations as consistently as Hanks. His later career included acclaimed dramas like “Sully“, where he portrayed pilot Chesley Sullenberger with quiet strength and sincerity. By continuing to choose challenging roles rather than repeating past successes, Hanks has kept his career fresh for more than 4 decades.

War heroes and space explorers

In the 1998 World War II drama Saving Private Ryan, Hanks played the fictional Capt. John Miller, who leads a unit searching for a missing American paratrooper after the Normandy landings. The film became widely recognized for its intense depiction of combat and received 11 Academy Award nominations, including one for Hanks as Best Actor.

Three years earlier, Hanks starred as Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell in the 1995 film Apollo 13 and voiced Sheriff Woody in Pixar’s Toy Story, which was also released in 1995. Together, these films demonstrated his ability to move between historical drama, space adventure, and animation.

A legacy far from over

At 70, Hanks remains active in the entertainment industry. His recent work includes appearances in Asteroid City, Here, The Phoenician Scheme and Toy Story 5, and additional projects involving Hanks have remained in development.

His creative work also extends beyond acting. Hanks directed the feature films That Thing You Do! and Larry Crowne and has received screenwriting credits for projects including those films and the World War II drama Greyhound. His career, therefore, encompasses acting, producing, directing, and writing.

Little-known fact: Hanks personally helped pay for the famous cross-country running scene in Forrest Gump.

Actor Tom Hanks at the Pacific Design Center. — *Source: Image Press Agency/Depositphotos*

TL;DR

Tom Hanks identified A League of Their Own, Cast Away, and Cloud Atlas as the 3 movies he most enjoyed making.
His selections were based on his personal experiences during production rather than box-office performance, awards, or critical rankings.
Hanks has won 2 Academy Awards for Best Actor and 7 Primetime Emmy Awards.
His best-known performances include roles in Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, and the Toy Story franchise.
At 70, Hanks remains active as an actor, producer, and writer, with a career spanning more than 4 decades.