Tom Hanks

A distant relative of Abraham Lincoln, through Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks. Remembering Hanks from a 1982 episode of Happy Days, Ron Howard hired him for the 1984 comedy Splash . Howard later directed him in Apollo 13 (1995) and The Da Vinci Code (2006). Made his feature directing debut in 1996 with the music-business comedy That Thing You Do! In 2002, at age 46, became the youngest actor to receive the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. Was a major contributor to… Show more funding the Rawley T. Farnsworth Theater at his alma mater, Skyline High School, in Oakland, CA. The venue was named for the teacher Hanks thanked during his Oscar acceptance speech for Philadelphia (1993). Serves on the Board of Governors for the National Space Society. ~ Rovi

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