Tom Hanks, a well-known actor and director, has become a legend for his famous roles in both comedies and dramas. But some interesting parts of his life are not as well known and may surprise you. One of these is that he just got an honors degree from Harvard University, where he recently graduated.
He has now finished his Ph.D.
Hanks, who is 66 years old, spoke to the graduate students at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he gave a commencement speech. During the event, a prestigious Ivy League school gave the actor an honorary doctorate of arts. Hanks joked that he got the degree “without having done a lick of work, without having spent any time in class, and without ever stepping foot in that library.”
With a bit of humor, the actor told the grads, “I don’t know much about Latin, I’m not really interested in enzymes, and I read about global public policy in the newspaper right before I do the Wordle.” Hanks told the crowd at Harvard Yard’s Tercentenary Theatre to fight against the apathy that comes with a society that has been through many hard things.
The actor was chosen to give the speech at the graduation.
In March 2023, Harvard said that Hanks would be the speaker at its graduation. In a statement, the university president said that the actor’s effect on national culture and his ability to shed light on stories and histories that had not been looked into before were important reasons for his pick.
The well-known actor told the graduating class that every day, every year, and for every finishing class, a choice must be made. He said that this decision applies to all adults, who must choose between three types of Americans: those who fully support liberty and freedom for everyone, those who reject it on purpose, and those who don’t care either way. “Only the first do the work of making a better union and a country that can’t be broken up. Hanks went on to say, “The others get in the way.”
Hanks also said during his speech, which made references to Superman and other superheroes, that apathy can turn people into slaves who are forced to work for dictators who ban art, conversation, and books.
When the actor went to the university, Harvard gave him a volleyball with the Harvard name on it. This was a nod to his part in the 2000 movie Cast Away. Before the star gave his speech, the school’s theater group members put on a show that showed how important he was to the world of movies.
When he was 14, he sold hot dogs and peanuts as a summer job.
Hanks started working at a field when he was 14. He sold hot dogs, sodas, and peanuts to Oakland A’s fans from the stands. Here’s a shot of Hanks in high school so you can get a better idea of him. But his experience wasn’t as good as he thought it would be. He thought it would be like a TV show where everyone helps a young kid who is trying to make it. But, to his surprise, it didn’t work out that way. “First and foremost, I’ve been robbed twice. Note to self: Hide those big wads of cash. “Don’t walk around with a big pile of money sticking out of your pocket,” Hanks said.
He also said that the people selling things weren’t very nice. “I met professionals who didn’t like the idea that kids were there. I’m 14 years old, and a man in his late fifties is yelling at me, “Hey, kid, that was my sale!”
Hanks has paid out of his pocket for some Forrest Gump scenes.
Hanks paid for at least two scenes in Forrest Gump because the company wouldn’t put more money into it. The famous run across America, which you can see in this story, was one of those scenes.
The director, Robert Zemeckis, said, “You and I will split that amount, and we’ll give it back to Paramount. We’ll give you the money back, but you guys [Paramount] will have to share the earnings a little bit more. The studio agreed and said, “Great, fantastic.” OK.'” Here, you can also find out more about which scene he made up on the spot.
“Tom Hanks Day” is a real thing.
In 2004, April Fools’ Day was just another joke about Tom Hanks. But it ended up being a lot more than that. It grew into an international charity event that Tom Hanks himself helped to fund. To mark this special day, big parties are held yearly in Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Cleveland, Toronto, and South Africa.
People who go to the event get free raffle tickets, and the winner gets signed movies, Wilson volleyballs, pictures, and more. Lifeline Energy gets money from Tom Hanks Day, and in 2023, the money will go to Esila, a program in Kenya that helps girls get an education.
He is crazy about typewriters and has a lot of them.
Tom Hanks has a collection of 250 typewriters, and he says, “I use them like cuff links!” when he travels with at least two of them. In the documentary California Typewriter, which he was in, he said, “I try to bring together people who type.”
He even sends some of his fans his typewriters so they can talk to him through them, and he helps some of them deal with their own problems. “I can’t stop looking at all of this,” said one fan. When a single action says more than a thousand words, this man left me speechless.”
He likes “Meatless Mondays.”
In honor of Meat Free Monday’s 10th anniversary, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson encourage people to join the cause. The program, which started in 2009, tries to get people to eat less meat by eating only plants at least once a week.
Hanks focused on the good things that would happen to the earth and animals. They asked people who aren’t vegans or vegetarians to try not eating meat on Mondays as a simple way to help. “Giving up meat is good for the world and the animals that live on it. It’s nice for people who aren’t full-fledged vegans or vegetarians to eat less meat. No meat on Monday is a simple and easy way to do this. Let’s do it.”
Even though Hollywood couples always break up and get divorced, Hanks has been happily married to Rita Wilson for 35 years. It looks like the actor knows some secrets about how to make a marriage work.
