Tom Hanks' Career Highlights Quiz | Celebrities

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1984 Tom Hanks made his breakthrough performance in which fish-out-of-water comedy?

Answer: Splash

'Splash' became a box office hit and made Tom Hanks a household name. 'Splash' earned itself one Oscar nomination for writing and was nominated for Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes. Tom Hanks originally auditioned for the part of Freddy Bauer, which later went to John Candy, because Ron Howard liked Tom so much he decided to put him in the lead and use John Candy as the major comedy aspect for the film. 'Splash' became the very first Touchstone produced movie.

2. In 1988 Tom Hanks had his first experience with an Oscar nomination for what movie?

Answer: Big

'Big' earned itself many awards including an Oscar nomination for writing and for Best Actor. Tom Hanks won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical along with a Amercian Comedy Award and a few critics awards. The movie became a box office hit. Steven Spielberg was originally set to direct and he wanted Harrison Ford to play Josh.

3. In 1992 Tom Hanks played his first supporting role since his feature film debut and stole every scene he was in. What movie is this?

Answer: A League of Their Own

Tom Hanks shines through in his supporting role as drunken ex-baseball star Jimmy Dugan. Again, Tom Hanks received an American Comedy Award for his role. 'A League of Their Own' became a box office hit marking another winning combination for Tom Hanks and Penny Marshall. Tom Hanks gained approximately 30 pounds for the role of Jimmy.

Originally, Penny Marshall was a little reluctant to cast Tom for the part because she thought he was too cute so she made him gain weight and gave him a bad hair cut. Tom Hanks' character is loosely based on real-life baseballer Jimmie Foxx.

4. For what movie did Tom Hanks earn his second Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical?

Answer: Sleepless in Seattle

'Sleepless in Seattle' was also nominated for Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical and Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical. It was also nominated for two Oscars for Best Song and Best Writing. 'Sleepless in Seattle' became a box office hit. The silhouette of the couple on the box of chocolates in a shop window in New York is actually a silhouette of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

5. Tom Hanks won his first Oscar for playing what character?

Answer: Andrew Beckett

Tom Hanks won just about every award imaginable for his portrayal of a gay man dying of AIDS including an Oscar and Golden Globe. 'Philadelphia' earned itself five Oscar nominations and won two for Best Song and Best Actor. Tom Hanks shedd approximately 12 kilograms for his role as Andrew.

6. In 1994 Tom Hanks portrayed the simple-minded Forrest Gump, in which he won his second consecutive Oscar. What award did Tom Hanks NOT win for his role?

Answer: BAFTA

The BAFTA is about the only award Tom Hanks has not won. 'Forrest Gump' remains one of the highest earning movies of all time. It earned 13 Oscar nominations and won 6 including Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing and Best Writing. Tom Hanks' brother, Jim Hanks, doubled for him in some of the running scenes.

7. In 1995, for what movie did Tom Hanks portray his boyhood hero and fulfill a boyhood dream?

Answer: Apollo 13

Tom Hanks is a space fanatic, in which playing Jim Lovell in 'Apollo 13' became an amazing highlight for himself and his career. 'Apollo 13' earned itself 9 Oscar nominations and won 2 including Best Film Editing and Best Sound. 'Apollo 13' became a box office hit. Kevin Costner was considered for the part of Jim Lovell, but when Ron Howard signed on to direct, he sent the script straight to Tom knowing Tom Hanks was a space fanatic.

8. In 1995, 'Toy Story' became the first full length computer animated movie. The crew showed Tom Hanks some footage they put together by dubbing Tom's voice from which one of his movies?

Answer: Turner and Hooch

They showed Tom the scene from 'Turner and Hooch' where he got locked out of the house by the dog. 'Toy Story' earned 3 Oscar nominations, 2 Golden Globe nominations and a bunch of Annie Awards. It became a box office hit. Billy Crystal was originally offered the chance to voice Buzz Lightyear.

9. 1996 marked Tom Hanks' feature film directorial debut for 'That Thing You Do'. What else did he do besides directing this film?

Answer: Wrote and Acted

Tom Hanks also co-wrote the title song 'That Thing You Do', which earned itself an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination. Tom Hanks cast a lot of his friends including his wife as the cocktail waitress of his dreams and 'Bosom Buddies' co-star Peter Scolari. Tom Hanks' son and daughter, Colin and Elizabeth, were cast as extras, along with many of their friends.

10. 1998 marked Tom Hanks first success at the Emmy's, for the mini-series ______________ ?

Answer: From the Earth to the Moon

'From the Earth to the Moon' earned itself 17 Emmy nominations and won 3. Tom Hanks was nominated alone for his efforts in directing for the episode 'Can We Do This?'. Tom Hanks shared an Emmy win for Outstanding Miniseries. 'From the Earth to the Moon' also won many other awards including a Golden Globe, Golden Satellite etc.

11. In 1998 'Saving Private Ryan' marked a new generation in the way war movies are made. It also marked Tom's __________ Oscar nomination?

Answer: 4th

'Saving Private Ryan' earned itself 11 Oscar nominations including Best Actor and Best Picture and winning 5 including Best Director. Being so realistic many war veterans couldn't watch it. 'Saving Private Ryan' became a box office hit. All the principal actors underwent several days of grueling army training except for Matt Damon, who was spared so that the other actors would resent him, and would convey that resentment in their performances.

12. 'You've Got Mail' marked the third pairing of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in another romantic comedy. It was a remake of "The ____________ " ?

Answer: The Shop Around the Corner

NY152 was Tom Hanks' character's name online, where as Joe Fox is his name in the movie. This is a great up-to-date romantic comedy that became a box office hit.

13. 'Toy Story 2' (1999) earned how many Oscar nominations?

Answer: 1

It earned itself one Oscar nomination for Best Song. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy. 'Toy Story 2' marked Tom Hanks' first sequel and it became a box office hit.

14. 'The Green Mile' was originally to be set in 1932, like the book, but had to be bumped to what year so the movie 'Top Hat' could be shown?

Answer: 1935

Based upon the book by Stephen King, 'The Green Mile' earned itself 4 Oscar nominations including Best Picture and became a box office hit. Tom Hanks was originally set to play the old Paul Edgecomb but makeup tests didn't make him look credible so Dabbs Greer was cast.

15. In 'Cast Away' Tom Hanks not only acts in it, he also does what?

Answer: Producer

Tom Hanks was the one that came up with the idea of 'Cast Away'. They had to film the movie in two parts and take a year off so Tom Hanks could lose approximately 50 pounds. 'Cast Away' earned itself 2 Oscar nominations including Best Actor. Tom Hanks won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama and won several critic awards. Actual lines of dialogue were written for Wilson the Volleyball, to help Hanks have a more natural interaction with the inanimate object. Also in earlier versions of the script, Chuck has two personalities and talks to himself, they were known as Good Chuck and Bad Chuck, they can be viewed in several screenplay websites with this early version of the script.

16. 'Band of Brothers' marked Tom Hanks' second Emmy-winning mini-series. How many Emmys did it win?

Answer: 6

It had a total of 19 Emmy nominations. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries. 'Band of Brothers' became the most expensive miniseries ever made.

17. What is the last name of his character in 'Road to Perdition'?

Answer: Sullivan

In the book it is said that his last name was supposed to be O'Sullivan, but a misprint on his birth certificate changed it to Sullivan as said in the book. A different role for Tom Hanks, who plays Sullivan so well. 'Road to Perdition' earned itself 6 Oscar nominations and won one. 'Road to Perdition' became a box office hit.

The movie is loosely based on actual events and Mr Rooney's last name in real life is Looney.

18. In 2002, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' became the highest grossing independent film of all time. How was Tom Hanks a part of this film?

Answer: Producer

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' earned 1 Oscar nomination and was nominated for 2 Golden Globes. It won a People's Choice award and a Golden Satellite award.

19. What was the name of Tom Hanks' character in 'Catch Me If You Can'?

Answer: Carl Hanratty

'Catch Me If You Can' was successful earning itself 2 Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe nomination and became a box office hit. Widely known, 'Catch Me If You Can' is based on a true story.

20. In 2002, Tom Hanks became the youngest recipent of what prestigous award?

Answer: AFI

Being involved in all of these movies, plus more, he was a very deserving winner.

Source: Author gumnutgirl16

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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Tom Hanks' Career Highlights Trivia Quiz

Tom Hanks is the best actor of our time. He has had far too many highlights in his career to name them all, but here are some of the best times of his career.

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