Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks is best known for his roles in Big, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, You’ve Got Mail, The Green Mile, Cast Away, Road to Perdition, Catch Me If You Can, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, as well as animated films like the Toy Story film series, The Polar Express, and The Simpsons Movie. He has earned and been nominated for numerous awards during his career, including winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor and an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia and a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a People’s Choice Award for Best Actor for his role in Forrest Gump, and earning the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film from the BAFTAs in 2004. Hanks is also known for his collaboration with film director Steven Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, and The Terminal, as well as the 2001 mini-series Band of Brothers, which launched Hanks also as a successful director, producer and writer. In 2010, Spielberg and Hanks were executive producers on the HBO mini-series The Pacific (a companion piece to Band of Brothers). As of 2012, Hanks’ films have grossed over $4.2 billion at the United States box office alone, and over $8.5 billion worldwide[2] making him the highest all-time box office star