5 essential Tom Hanks movies to watch on the Academy Award-winning actor's birthday

Veteran actor Tom Hanks celebrated his 69th birthday on July 9, 2025, and it has been over four decades since he has been delivering us his entertaining performances. He made his acting debut with a low-budget movie called He Knows You're Alone (1980) and was last seen in filmmaking auteur Wes Anderson's espionage black comedy film, The Phoenician Scheme (2025).

His list of awards and nominations is big, with a couple of Academy Awards, seven Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and more. Additionally, his honorary awards include a Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the AFI Life Achievement Award, and more.

Over the years, the actor has appeared in a range of movies, from which we picked a few them to watch around his birthday. Choosing a few top movies of an actor like him is a hard nut to crack. There are too many of them, and we can't really say that this shouldn't make it to the list.

Let's see which of them made it to the list.

Tom Hanks movies to watch on his birthday

5. Forrest Gump (1993)

The film is based on a Winston Groom novel. (Image via The Tisch Company)

Tom Hanks had already won an Oscar for Philadelphia in 1993, and then came what is perhaps his best movie to date, Forrest Gump (1994). No list of Tom Hanks movies is complete without this, so that makes this film an obvious addition here. It is about the titular Gump, and the story revolves around his experiences in the 20th-century United States.

4. Cast Away (2000)

Tom Hanks played Chuck Noland in the film. (Image via 20th Century Fox)

Hank's role as Chuck Noland in Cast Away is one definition of hope, as he is stuck alone on an island after a plane crash. He has gotten nothing other than the lost FedEx packages. Among them is a Wilson volleyball for a company. Whatever happens, happens for a reason, and you will see this as the film ends, and everything will make sense.

3. Toy Story (1995)

The first two Toy Story films have a 100% RT score. (Image via Pixar Animation Studios)

We recommend you watch the entire franchise, as it has two movies with 100% critics' approval and two with over 90% scores. We added the first film here as it began Tom Hanks' journey as Sheriff Woody. As the franchise grew over the years, we got to see new and remarkable adventures of him and his Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) alongside the rest of their toy buddies. A fifth movie is currently in development.

2. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Christopher Walken was in the film, too. (Image via Amblin Entertainment)

This game of cat and mouse is worth seeing not only because Hanks is in it but also because of Leonardo DiCaprio. The latter plays con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., who always slips through the cracks like no one else can.

1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. (Image via Amblin Entertainment)

Saving Private Ryan had to be at the top. It is considered one of the greatest war films ever made. It is not just about guns and bullets. It is about soldiers trying to stick together while they reach James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon). You will see many familiar faces in it, but they weren't that popular back then.