Tom Hanks, or ‘Mr. Nice Guy,’ is one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood. Over the course of his career, he played many roles which are until this day considered iconic and has plenty of awards under his belt. Among the rest, he is the recipient of two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor for his roles in Forrest Gump and as a gay lawyer with AIDS in Philadelphia.
Born July 9, 1956 in Concord, California, to parents who divorced when he was still very young, Hanks experienced difficult upbringing. His mom and dad both got involved in relationships with other people, so young Hanks saw stepbrothers and stepsisters come and go out of his life.
By the age of ten, he had already lived in ten different houses, but he still managed to turn into a decent young man.
As he was growing up, he learned that it was humor that could help him get accepted by the people whom he met, especially the students at the many different schools he was forced to enroll to.
“I was excruciatingly dreadfully shy. I was also the one who simultaneously yelled out funny subtitles during comic strip movies, I managed to stay out of trouble,” the Sleepless in Seattle star recalled.
At the time he was starting his acting career, Hanks was married to American actress Samantha Lewes. The two had a lot in common. For one, they were both children of divorced parents who experienced difficulties early in life.
They had one son, actor Colin, and one daughter, Elizabeth. Hanks and Lewes divorced in 1987. It was a difficult time for Hanks who struggled coping with the bad thoughts that haunted him. As a result, he sought therapy three times a week.
Lewes died in 2002 at the age of 49 from bone cancer.
In 1981, Hanks met actress Rita Wilson on the set of TV comedy Bosom Buddies. They were reunited some three years later, in 1985, on the set of Volunteers. He and Wilson married in 1988 and have been together ever since.
In 2013, Hanks reveled that he had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Today, he’s doing his best to raise awareness about the ‘silent’ disease.
However, fans got worried over their favorite actor’s health condition after a video of him appeared online showing his hand shaking as he appeared to struggle to keep a steady hold on a microphone. He then placed his left hand on top of his right hand and then eventually swapped hands completely.
Many fans defended Hanks, with one of them saying that it happened because he’s diabetic. Apparently, hand shaking might take place in case of low blood sugar levels.