This week, both at the Tribeca Film Festival as well as opening in theaters, we have an independent movie that stars Tom Hanks. Especially considering how infrequently Hanks acts in small films these days, this is something to take notice of. The film in question? Well, it’s A Hologram for the King, of course. Side note, this is another example of a thing that I mentioned yesterday, namely that a Tribeca title is going basically straight to general release. There’s another one of these still to discuss before the week is out, but right now, Hanks’ flick is what is in the spotlight. I see it tomorrow, so instead of delving too deep into it, I’ll be looking at his career and what I feel are his best performances so far to date. Fun, right? We’ll, here goes nothing!
Quickly, a bit on the film itself. It follows a struggling American businessman named Alan (Hanks), who is attempting to right his life by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his idea to the wealthy monarchy there. Along the way, he winds up discovering things he never knew and engaging in a bit of personal redemption, as you might imagine for something of this ilk. The movie is written and directed by Tom Tykwer (who also had a hand in composing the music), based on the well regarded Dave Eggers novel of the same name. In addition to Hanks in the lead, the rest of the cast here includes Alexander Black, Sarita Choudhury, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Tracey Fairaway, Jane Perry, Tom Skerritt, and Ben Whishaw, among others. Hanks though, as you can see, is truly the star here.
What you’ll see below is a whole smorgasbord of top quality Hanks work. Spoiler alert: I think he’s never been better than in his Academy Award winning turn in Philadelphia, though that’s just me. There’s also his win for Forrest Gump to consider, along with other Oscar nominated work like Big, Cast Away, or Saving Private Ryan, all of which show up on my list. As an aside, just know that while I didn’t consider his voice work, I did give it a special citation of its own, which you’ll notice below the main list, before my honorable mention picks. Those are no slouches either, so it’s all a testament to just how good an actor Hanks is. We all knew that already, but still, [...]
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