title: Sandra Bullock

text: For 12 years, Bullock was raised in Nuremberg, Germany, and Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, and grew up speaking German. She had a Waldorf education in Nuremberg. As a child, while her mother went on European opera tours, Bullock usually stayed with her aunt Christl and cousin Susanne, the latter of whom later married politician Peter Ramsauer. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child and frequently accompanied her mother, taking small parts in her opera productions. In Nuremberg, she sang in the opera's children's choir. Bullock has a scar above her left eye which was caused by a fall into a creek when she was a child. While she maintains her American citizenship, Bullock applied for German citizenship in 2009.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader and performed in school theater productions. After graduating in 1982, she attended East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, North Carolina, where she received a BFA in Drama in 1987. While at ECU, she performed in multiple theater productions, including "Peter Pan" and "Three Sisters". She then moved to Manhattan, New York, where she supported herself as a bartender, cocktail waitress, and coat checker while auditioning for roles.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: While in New York, Bullock took acting classes with Sanford Meisner. She appeared in several student films and later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play "No Time Flat". Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the made-for-television film "" (1989). This led to her being cast in a series of small roles in several independent films, as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film "Working Girl" (1990). She went on to appear in several films, such as "Love Potion No. 9" (1992), "The Thing Called Love" (1993) and "Fire on the Amazon" (1993), before rising to early prominence with her supporting role in the sci-fi action film "Demolition Man" (1993).


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock's breakthrough came in 1994, when she played Annie Porter, a passenger eventually driving a bus that was rigged by a terrorist, in the smash-hit blockbuster "Speed" alongside Keanu Reeves. She was required to read for "Speed" to ensure that there was the right chemistry between her and Reeves. She recalls they had to do "all these really physical scenes together, rolling around on the floor and stuff." "Speed" received critical acclaim, with Rotten Tomatoes calling it a "terrific popcorn thriller [with] outstanding performances from Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, and Sandra Bullock", grossed $350 million worldwide, and helped establish Bullock as a Hollywood actress. For her role, she won for Best Actress at the 21st Saturn Awards as well as three awards —including Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female— at the 1995 MTV Movie Awards.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock headlined the romantic comedy "While You Were Sleeping" (1995) as a lonely Chicago Transit Authority token collector who saves the life of a man. The film had a positive reception from critics, who felt that it was "assembled with such skill—and with such a charming performance from Sandra Bullock—that it gives formula a good name." She received her first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The thriller "The Net" (also 1995), starred Bullock as a computer programmer who stumbles upon a conspiracy that puts her life and the lives of those around her in great danger. Owen Gleiberman, writing for "Entertainment Weekly", complimented her performance, saying, "Bullock pulls you into the movie. Her overripe smile and clear, imploring eyes are sometimes evocative of Julia Roberts". "While You Were Sleeping" and "The Net" made $182 million and $110.6 million, respectively.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In "A Time to Kill" (1996), a legal drama based on John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name, Bullock portrayed a member of the defense team in the trial for the murder of two men who raped a young girl, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey and Kevin Spacey. She received a MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Female Performance. She subsequently received $11 million for "" (1997), which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her next project, "Hope Floats" (1998). Unlike the original film, "Speed 2" was a critical and commercial flop that she later disparaged. In "Hope Floats", she starred as an unassuming housewife whose life is disrupted when her husband (played by Michael Paré) reveals his infidelity to her on a talk show. Critic James Berardinelli remarked that her "undisputed strength lies in a blend of light drama and comedy". That film was a commercial success, grossing $81.4 million worldwide.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock starred in the comedy "Practical Magic" (1998) alongside Nicole Kidman as two witch sisters who face a curse which threatens to prevent them ever finding lasting love. While the film opened atop the chart on its North American opening weekend, it flopped at the box office. That year, she voiced Miriam in the DreamWorks Animation film "The Prince of Egypt" and wrote, produced, and directed the short film "Making Sandwiches". She next played a free-spirited drifter who begins to talk to a writer (Ben Affleck) in the romantic comedy "Forces of Nature" (1999), on which "Boxoffice Magazine" remarked: "The combination of Affleck's deadpan by-the-book persona with the spontaneity of Bullock's character sparks with convincing chemistry." "Forces of Nature" made $93 million worldwide. Bullock took on the role of an FBI agent who must go undercover as a beauty pageant contestant in the comedy "Miss Congeniality" (2000), which became another financial success, with a global gross of $212 million. It earned her a second Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In "28 Days" (also 2000), a dramedy directed by Betty Thomas, Bullock starred as a newspaper columnist obliged to enter a rehabilitation program for alcoholism.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: After producing the romantic comedy "Kate & Leopold" (2001), Bullock starred in the psychological thriller "Murder by Numbers" (2002) as a seasoned homicide detective. Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of a possible four, stating: "Bullock does a good job here of working against her natural likability, creating a character you'd like to like, and could like, if she weren't so sad, strange and turned in upon herself." She teamed up with Hugh Grant for the romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice" (also 2002), in which she starred as a lawyer who walks out on her boss. Liz Braun, of "Jam! Movies", found Bullock and Grant to be "perfectly paired", stating: "The script allows the two actors to be at their comedic best, even though the film as a whole is amateurish in many ways". "Two Weeks Notice" made $199 million globally. That year, she was presented with the Raul Julia Award for Excellence for helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry as the executive producer of the sitcom "George Lopez" (2002–2007). She also made several appearances on the show as Accident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: As part of a large ensemble cast, Bullock played the wife of a district attorney in the drama "Crash" (2004), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career to that point. She next received a $17.5 million salary for "", which Roger Ebert called a "doubly unnecessary" sequel. She was a co-recipient of the 2005 Women in Film Crystal Award. In 2006, Bullock reunited with Keanu Reeves for the romantic drama "The Lake House", although their characters were separated throughout the film and they were only on set together for two weeks during filming, and played Harper Lee in "Infamous", a drama based on George Plimpton's 1997 book "Truman Capote", alongside Toby Jones and Daniel Craig. "The Lake House" was a financial success, while "Infamous" received generally positive reviews. Bullock headlined the supernatural thriller "Premonition" (2007) as a housewife who experiences the days surrounding her husband's death in non-chronological order. Despite negative reviews, the film grossed $84.1 million worldwide.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In 2009, Bullock starred as a pushy editor-in-chief in the romantic comedy "The Proposal", opposite Ryan Reynolds, which grossed $317 million at the worldwide box office, making it her fourth-most successful picture to date. She received her third Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. That same year, the drama "The Blind Side" opened at number two behind "" with $34.2 million, making it Bullock's second-highest opening weekend ever; it went on to gross over $309 million, making it her highest-grossing domestic film, her fourth-highest-grossing film worldwide, and the first one in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star. Bullock portrayed Leigh Anne Tuohy, the adoptive mother of Michael Oher, a role she had initially turned down three times due to discomfort in portraying a devout Christian. She was awarded the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress. "The Blind Side" also received an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. Winning the Oscar also gave Bullock another unique distinction: the prior night, she won the Razzie Award for Worst Actress for her performance as an eccentric crossword puzzle writer in "All About Steve" (2009), becoming the only actor in history to win both awards for the same year.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: By 2010, Bullock was said to be "courted for virtually every female starring role Hollywood has to offer", according to "Entertainment Weekly". Ben Affleck, her co-star in the romantic comedy "Forces of Nature" (1999), stated: "Every movie you hear about and every script I see, they say, 'We're going after Sandra Bullock for the woman'." She decided to eschew "the torrent of offers" in favour of "quietly [putting] acting on hold" to focus on her personal life. She also became "more selective" with the projects that she accepted, on which she said: "As I've gotten older, I say 'No' a lot more. I've become a better fighter for my work. I didn't have the guts to do that before". She would next star alongside Tom Hanks as a widow of the September 11 attacks in the drama "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" (2011), a film adaptation based on the novel of the same name. Despite mixed reviews, the film was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Picture. Bullock was nominated for Favorite Actress Drama by Teen Choice Awards.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In 2013, Bullock starred alongside Melissa McCarthy in the comedy "The Heat" as an FBI Special Agent who, along with a city detective, must take down a mobster in Boston. It received positive reviews from critics, and took in $230 million at the worldwide box office. Bullock subsequently played an astronaut stranded in space in the sci-fi thriller "Gravity", opposite George Clooney, which premiered at the 70th Venice Film Festival and was released on October 4, 2013, to coincide with the beginning of World Space Week. "Gravity" received universal critical acclaim and a standing ovation in Venice. The film was called "the most realistic and beautifully choreographed film ever set in space" and certain critics considered Bullock's performance to be the best of her career. "Gravity" grossed $716 million worldwide to become Bullock's second-most successful film. For her role as Dr. Ryan Stone, Bullock was nominated for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress. On her performance, "Variety" wrote: Bullock inhabits the role with grave dignity and hints at Stone's past scars with sensitivity and tact, and she holds the screen effortlessly once "Gravity" becomes a veritable one-woman show [...] the actress remains fully present emotionally, projecting a very appealing combo of vulnerability, intelligence and determination that not only wins us over immediately, but sustains attention all the way through the cathartic closing reels.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock provided her voice for Scarlet Overkill, the villainous character, in the animated film "Minions" (2015), which became her highest-grossing film to date with a worldwide gross of over $1.1 billion. In 2015, she served as an executive producer and starred, as a political consultant hired to help win a Bolivian presidential election, in the drama "Our Brand Is Crisis", based on the 2005 documentary film of the same name by Rachel Boynton. Peter Debruge of "Variety" found Bullock's portrayal to be "easily one of the best female roles of the last 10 years", but film had the worst wide release opening of her career.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In "Ocean's 8" (2018), an all-female spin-off of the "Ocean's Eleven" franchise directed by Gary Ross, Bullock played Debbie Ocean, the sister of Danny Ocean, who helps plan a sophisticated heist of the annual Met Gala in New York City. Writing for "The Hollywood Reporter", Josh Spieger called the film a "welcome return to the big screen for Bullock" and observed: "She has reached a point in her career where she chooses her roles with care; before "Gravity", she'd only co-starred in a handful of films over the previous five years, including her Oscar-winning turn in "The Blind Side". "Ocean's 8" is Bullock’s first true franchise film in decades [...] and it suggests that her decision to be more selective in which projects she picks can pay off in dividends". "Ocean's 8" had the best debut for the franchise, and ultimately made $297 million globally. Her next role was that of Malorie, a woman who must find a way to guide herself and her children to safety despite the potential threat from an unseen adversary, in the Netflix post-apocalyptic horror film "Bird Box" (2018), based on the novel of the same name. She received acclaim for her performance, with "Variety" and "The Wrap" describing it as "wonderfully self-reliant", and "fascinating and terrifying to watch," respectively. "Bird Box" was the most-watched film on Netflix within 28 days of its release until 2021.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In another production for Netflix, Nora Fingscheidt's drama "The Unforgivable" (2021), Bullock played a woman who is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime. It became the fifth most-streamed-film on the platform at the time of its release. She took on the role of a successful yet depressed best-selling romance novelist in Paramount Pictures' "The Lost City" (2022), a "Romancing the Stone"-style romantic comedy–adventure film, directed by Adam and Aaron Nee, opposite Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe. The film was favorably received by critics, who praised the chemistry between Bullock and Tatum, and grossed $190.8 million globally, which made Bullock "the first actress to have $100 million earners in live-action star vehicles over four different decades", according to "Forbes". In 2022, she also appeared in the Brad Pitt action thriller "Bullet Train", in a mostly vocal performance.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock owns the production company Fortis Films, through which she has served as a producer for several of her star vehicles, including "Hope Floats" (1998), "Miss Congeniality" (2000), "Two Weeks Notice" (2002) and "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" (2005), as well as for the sitcom "George Lopez" (2002–2007). Her father, John Bullock, was the company's CEO and her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is the former president. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas and West Hollywood, California.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In November 2006, Bullock founded an Austin, Texas, restaurant named Bess Bistro which was located on West 6th Street. She later opened another business, Walton's Fancy and Staple, across the street in a building she extensively renovated. Walton's is a bakery, upscale restaurant, and floral shop that also offers services including event planning. After almost nine years in business, Bess Bistro closed on September 20, 2015.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock has been a public supporter of the American Red Cross and has donated $1 million to the organization at least five times. Her first public donation of that amount was to the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund. Three years later, she sent money in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis. In 2010, she donated $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti following the Haiti earthquake and again donated the same amount following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. She donated $1 million in 2017 to support relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey in Texas.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In 2010, along with other public figures, Bullock made a public service announcement urging people to sign a petition for clean-up efforts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bullock was inducted into the Warren Easton Hall of Fame in 2012, for her donations to charities, and was honored with the Favorite Humanitarian Award at the 39th People's Choice Awards, for her contributions to New Orleans' Warren Easton High School, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock has been dubbed "America's sweetheart" by the media in reference to her "friendly and direct and so unpretentious" nature. She was selected as one of "People" magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1996 1999, and 2011. The publication named her as its Woman of the Year in 2010 as well as the Most Beautiful Woman in 2015.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: In 2010, "Time" magazine included Bullock in its annual "Time" 100 as one of the most influential people in the world, and "Entertainment Weekly" named her The Most Powerful Actress in Hollywood. In 2013, Bullock joined other Hollywood legends at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in making imprints of her hands and feet in cement of the theater's forecourt. That year, she was named among The Most Powerful Women in Entertainment by "The Hollywood Reporter", and Entertainer of the Year, due to her success with "The Heat" and "Gravity", by "Entertainment Weekly". Bullock ranked at number two on the 2014 "Forbes" list of most powerful actresses and was honored with the Decade of Hotness Award by Spike Guys' Choice Awards.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: On December 20, 2000, Bullock was in a private jet crash on a runway from which she and the two crew escaped uninjured. Pilot error and blizzard conditions were responsible. The crew were unable to activate the runway lights during a night landing at Jackson Hole Airport. While Bullock was in Massachusetts on April 18, 2008, shooting "The Proposal", she and her husband Jesse James were in a vehicle that was hit head-on by a drunk driver. They were uninjured.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin, Texas, home in October 2004. The jury ruled that the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and rebuilt. Daneshjou and his insurer later settled with Bullock for roughly half the awarded verdict.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan, whom she met while filming "Love Potion No. 9". Their relationship lasted three years. She dated football player Troy Aikman and actors Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock married motorcycle builder and "Monster Garage" host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present. In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former adult film actress Janine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: A scandal arose in March 2010 when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock. Bullock canceled European promotional appearances for "The Blind Side" citing "unforeseen personal reasons". On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. He stated, "The vast majority of the allegations reported are untrue and unfounded [...] beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment." James declared, "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me." He asked that Bullock and their children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their "pain and embarrassment". James' publicist subsequently announced on March 30, 2010, that James had checked into a rehabilitation facility to "deal with personal issues" and save his relationship to Bullock. On April 23, 2010, Bullock filed for divorce in Austin, Texas. Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock announced in 2010 that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a son born in January 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four months earlier. Bullock's son began living with them in January 2010 but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars ceremony that March. Given the pair's split and subsequent divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of her son as a single parent. Bullock announced in December 2015 that she had adopted a second child and appeared on the cover of "People" magazine with her then three-year-old new daughter.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Beginning in 2002 Bullock was stalked across several states by a man named Thomas James Weldon. Bullock obtained a restraining order against him in 2003, which was renewed in 2006. After the restraining order expired and Weldon was released from a mental institution, he again traveled through several states to find Bullock; she then obtained another restraining order.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: On April 22, 2007, a woman named Marcia Diana Valentine was found lying outside James and Bullock's home in Orange County, California. When James confronted the woman, she ran to her car, got behind the wheel and tried to run him over. She was said to be an obsessed fan of Bullock. Valentine was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and stalking. Bullock obtained a restraining order to bar Valentine from "contacting or coming near her home, family or work for three years". Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking. She was subsequently convicted of stalking and sentenced to three years' probation.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Joshua James Corbett broke into Bullock's Los Angeles home in June 2014. Bullock locked herself in a room and dialed 911. Corbett pleaded no contest in 2017 and was sentenced to five years' probation for stalking Bullock and breaking into her residence. He was then subject to a ten-year protective order that required him to stay away from Bullock. After Corbett missed a court date the previous month, police officers went to his parents' residence on May 2, 2018, where he lived in a guest house, to arrest him. He refused to leave and threatened to shoot officers. A SWAT team was called and, after a five-hour standoff, they deployed gas canisters and entered the house where they found Corbett had committed suicide. Corbett's death was the result of "multiple incised wounds" according to the Los Angeles County coroner.


title: Sandra Bullock

text: Bullock has starred in over 50 films, and has helped produce over 15 works in film and television. Her highest-grossing releases are "Speed" (1994), "A Time to Kill" (1996), "The Prince of Egypt" (1998), "Miss Congeniality" (2000), "The Proposal" (2009), "The Blind Side" (2009), "The Heat" (2013), "Gravity" (2013), "Minions" (2015), and "Ocean's 8" (2018).


title: Sandra Bullock

text: On March 24, 2005, Bullock received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. Her performance in the biographical drama film "The Blind Side" (2009) garnered her the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. Bullock was nominated again in these categories for her performance in the film "Gravity" (2013).


title: Tom Hanks

text: Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Hanks' films have grossed more than $4.9 billion in North America and more than $9.96 billion worldwide, making him the fourth-highest-grossing actor in North America.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks made his breakthrough with leading roles in a series of comedy films which received positive media attention, such as "Splash" (1984), "The Money Pit" (1986), "Big" (1988) and "A League of Their Own" (1992). He won two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor for starring as a gay lawyer suffering from AIDS in "Philadelphia" (1993) and the title character in "Forrest Gump" (1994). Hanks collaborated with film director Steven Spielberg on five films: "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), "The Terminal" (2004), "Bridge of Spies" (2015), and "The Post" (2017), as well as the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" (2001), and "The Pacific" (2010) which launched him as a director, producer, and screenwriter.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks' other films include the romantic comedies "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and "You've Got Mail" (1998); the dramas "Apollo 13" (1995), "The Green Mile" (1999), "Cast Away" (2000), "Road to Perdition" (2002), and "Cloud Atlas" (2012); and the biographical dramas "Charlie Wilson's War" (2007), "Captain Phillips" (2013), "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013), "Sully" (2016), "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" (2019), "News of the World" (2020), and "Elvis" (2022), A Man Called Otto (2022), in which his youngest son Truman, marked his acting debut as the young 'Otto'. Hanks senior, has also appeared as the title character in the Robert Langdon film series, and voiced Sheriff Woody in the "Toy Story" film series (1995–present).


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks' accolades include two Academy Awards out of six nominations. Hanks has also won seven Primetime Emmy Awards for his work as a producer of various limited series and television movies, including "From the Earth to the Moon", "Band of Brothers", "John Adams", and "The Pacific". In 2013, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Nora Ephron's "Lucky Guy". He has received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2002. He received the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2004. In 2014, he received a Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2016, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, as well as the French Legion of Honor. In 2020, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks was born in Concord, California, on July 9, 1956, to hospital worker Janet Marylyn () and itinerant cook Amos "Bud" Hanks. His mother was from a Portuguese family; their surname was originally "Fraga". His father had English ancestry, and through his line, Hanks is a distant cousin of President Abraham Lincoln<ref name="ancestry.com/tom-hanks-lincoln"></ref> and children's host Fred Rogers, whom he played. His parents divorced in 1960. Their three oldest children, Sandra (later Sandra Hanks Benoiton, a writer), Larry (who became an entomology professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), and Tom, went with their father, while the youngest, Jim (who also became an actor and filmmaker), remained with their mother in Red Bluff, California. In his childhood, Hanks' family moved often; by the age of 10, he had lived in 10 different houses.


title: Tom Hanks

text: While Hanks' family religious history was Catholic and Mormon, one journalist characterized Hanks' teenage self as being a "Bible-toting evangelical" for several years. In school, he was unpopular with students and teachers alike, later telling "Rolling Stone" magazine, "I was a geek, a spaz. I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy. At the same time, I was the guy who'd yell out funny captions during filmstrips. But I didn't get into trouble. I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible." In 1965, his father married Frances Wong, a San Francisco native of Chinese descent. Frances had three children, two of whom lived with Hanks during his high school years. Hanks acted in school plays, including "South Pacific", while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks studied theater at Chabot College in Hayward, California, and transferred to California State University, Sacramento after two years. During a 2001 interview with sportscaster Bob Costas, Hanks was asked whether he would rather have an Oscar or a Heisman Trophy. He replied he would rather win a Heisman by playing halfback for the California Golden Bears. He told "New York" magazine in 1986, "Acting classes looked like the best place for a guy who liked to make a lot of noise and be rather flamboyant. I spent a lot of time going to plays. I wouldn't take dates with me. I'd just drive to a theater, buy myself a ticket, sit in the seat and read the program, and then get into the play completely. I spent a lot of time like that, seeing Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Ibsen, and all that."


title: Tom Hanks

text: During his years studying theater, Hanks met Vincent Dowling, head of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. At Dowling's suggestion, Hanks became an intern at the festival. His internship stretched into a three-year experience that covered most aspects of theater production, including lighting, set design, and stage management, prompting Hanks to drop out of college. During the same time, Hanks won the Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his 1978 performance as Proteus in Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona", one of the few times he played a villain. In 2010, "Time" magazine named Hanks one of the "Top 10 College Dropouts."


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 1979, Hanks moved to New York City, where he made his film debut in the low-budget slasher film "He Knows You're Alone" (1980) and landed a starring role in the television movie "Mazes and Monsters". Early that year, he was cast in the lead, Callimaco, in the Riverside Shakespeare Company's production of Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Mandrake", directed by Daniel Southern. The following year, Hanks landed one of the lead roles, that of character Kip Wilson, on the ABC television pilot of "Bosom Buddies". He and Peter Scolari played a pair of young advertising men forced to dress as women so they could live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. Hanks had previously partnered with Scolari on the 1970s game show "Make Me Laugh". After landing the role, Hanks moved to Los Angeles. "Bosom Buddies" ran for two seasons, and, although the ratings were never strong, television critics gave the program high marks. "The first day I saw him on the set," co-producer Ian Praiser told "Rolling Stone", "I thought, 'Too bad he won't be in television for long.' I knew he'd be a movie star in two years." However, although Praiser knew it, he was not able to convince Hanks. "The television show had come out of nowhere," Hanks' best friend Tom Lizzio told "Rolling Stone".


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks made a guest appearance on a 1982 episode of "Happy Days" ("A Case of Revenge," in which he played a disgruntled former classmate of Fonzie) where he met writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel who were also writing the film "Splash" (1984), a romantic comedy fantasy about a mermaid who falls in love with a human, to be directed by former "Happy Days" star Ron Howard. Ganz and Mandel suggested Howard consider Hanks for the film. At first, Howard considered Hanks for the role of the main character's wisecracking brother, a role that eventually went to John Candy. Instead, Hanks landed the lead role in "Splash", which went on to become a surprise box office hit, grossing more than US$69 million. He also had a sizable hit with the sex comedy "Bachelor Party", also in 1984. In 1983–84, Hanks made three guest appearances on "Family Ties" as Elyse Keaton's alcoholic brother Ned Donnelly.


title: Tom Hanks

text: With "Nothing in Common" (1986)—a story of a young man alienated from his father (played by Jackie Gleason)— Hanks began to extend himself from comedic roles to dramatic roles. In an interview with "Rolling Stone" magazine, Hanks commented on his experience: "It changed my desires about working in movies. Part of it was the nature of the material, what we were trying to say. But besides that, it focused on people's relationships. The story was about a guy and his father, unlike, say, "The Money Pit", where the story is really about a guy and his house." In 1987, he had signed an agreement with The Walt Disney Studios where he had starred to a talent pool in an acting/producing pact. After a few more flops and a moderate success with the comedy "Dragnet", Hanks' stature in the film industry rose.


title: Tom Hanks

text: The broad success of the fantasy comedy "Big" (1988) established Hanks as a major Hollywood talent, both as a box office draw and within the industry as an actor. For his performance in the film, Hanks earned his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. "Big" was followed later that year by "Punchline", in which he and Sally Field co-starred as struggling comedians.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks then suffered a run of box-office underperformers: "The 'Burbs" (1989), "Joe Versus the Volcano" (1990), and "The Bonfire of the Vanities" (1990). In the last, he portrayed a greedy Wall Street figure who gets enmeshed in a hit-and-run accident. 1989's "Turner & Hooch" was Hanks' only financially successful film of the period.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks climbed back to the top again with his portrayal of a washed-up baseball legend turned manager in "A League of Their Own" (1992). Hanks has said his acting in earlier roles was not great, but that he subsequently improved. In an interview with "Vanity Fair", Hanks noted his ""modern era of moviemaking ... because enough self-discovery has gone on ... My work has become less pretentiously fake and over the top"". This "modern era" began in 1993 for Hanks, first with "Sleepless in Seattle" and then with "Philadelphia". The former was a blockbuster success about a widower who finds true love over the radio airwaves. Richard Schickel of "TIME" called his performance "charming," and most critics agreed that Hanks' portrayal ensured him a place among the premier romantic-comedy stars of his generation.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In "Philadelphia", he played a gay lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination. Hanks lost and thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role. In a review for "People", Leah Rozen stated, "Above all, credit for "Philadelphia"s success belongs to Hanks, who makes sure that he plays a character, not a saint. He is flat-out terrific, giving a deeply felt, carefully nuanced performance that deserves an Oscar." Hanks won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in "Philadelphia". During his acceptance speech, he revealed that his high school drama teacher Rawley Farnsworth and former classmate John Gilkerson, two people with whom he was close, were gay.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks followed "Philadelphia" with the 1994 hit "Forrest Gump" which grossed a worldwide total of over $600 million at the box office. Hanks remarked: "When I read the script for "Gump", I saw it as one of those kind of grand, hopeful movies that the audience can go to and feel ... some hope for their lot and their position in life ... I got that from the movies a hundred million times when I was a kid. I still do." Hanks won his second Best Actor Academy Award for his role in "Forrest Gump", becoming only the second actor to have accomplished the feat of winning consecutive Best Actor Oscars. (Spencer Tracy was the first, winning in 1937–38. Hanks and Tracy were the same age at the time they received their Academy Awards: 37 for the first and 38 for the second.)


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks' next role as astronaut and commander Jim Lovell in the 1995 film "Apollo 13" reunited him with Ron Howard. Critics generally applauded the film and the performances of the entire cast, which included actors Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan. The movie also earned nine Academy Award nominations, winning two. Later that year, Hanks starred in Disney/Pixar's CGI-animated hit film "Toy Story", as the voice of Sheriff Woody.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks made his directing debut with his 1996 film "That Thing You Do!" about a 1960s pop group, also playing the role of a music producer. Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman went on to create Playtone, a record and film production company named after the record company in the film.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks then executive produced, co-wrote, and co-directed the HBO docudrama "From the Earth to the Moon". The 12-part series chronicled the space program from its inception, through the familiar flights of Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell, to the personal feelings surrounding the reality of moon landings. The Emmy Award-winning project was, at US$68 million, one of the most expensive ventures undertaken for television.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 1998, Hanks' next project was no less expensive. For "Saving Private Ryan", he teamed up with Steven Spielberg to make a film about a search through war-torn France after D-Day to bring back a soldier. It earned the praise and respect of the film community, critics, and the general public. It was labeled one of the finest war films ever made and earned Spielberg his second Academy Award for direction, and Hanks another Best Actor nomination. Later that year, Hanks re-teamed with his "Sleepless in Seattle" co-star Meg Ryan for "You've Got Mail", a remake of 1940's "The Shop Around the Corner". In 1999, Hanks starred in an adaptation of the Stephen King novel "The Green Mile". He also returned as the voice of Woody in "Toy Story 2", the sequel to "Toy Story".


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2000, Hanks starred in Robert Zemeckis's "Cast Away", for which he received a Golden Globe Award win for Best Actor and an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a marooned FedEx systems analyst. Famed critic Roger Ebert of "The Chicago Sun-Times" wrote of Hanks' performance "Hanks proves here again what an effective actor he is, never straining for an effect, always persuasive even in this unlikely situation, winning our sympathy with his eyes and his body language when there's no one else on the screen."


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2001, Hanks helped direct and produce the Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers". He also appeared in the September 11 television special "" and the documentary "Rescued From the Closet". He then teamed up with "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes for the adaptation of Max Allan Collins's and Richard Piers Rayner's DC Comics graphic novel "Road to Perdition", in which he played an anti-hero role as a hitman on the run with his son. That same year, Hanks collaborated once again with director Spielberg, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit biographical crime drama "Catch Me If You Can", based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. The same year, Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson produced the hit movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". In August 2007, he along with co-producers Rita Wilson and Gary Goetzman, and writer and star Nia Vardalos, initiated a legal action against the production company Gold Circle Films for their share of profits from the movie. At the age of 45, Hanks became the youngest-ever recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award on June 12, 2002.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2004, he appeared in three films: The Coen brothers' "The Ladykillers", another Spielberg film, "The Terminal", and "The Polar Express", a family film from Zemeckis for which Hanks played multiple motion capture roles. In a "USA Weekend" interview, Hanks discussed how he chooses projects: "[Since] "A League of Their Own", it can't be just another movie for me. It has to get me going somehow ... There has to be some all-encompassing desire or feeling about wanting to do that particular movie. I'd like to assume that I'm willing to go down any avenue in order to do it right". In August 2005, Hanks was voted in as vice president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks next starred in the highly anticipated film "The Da Vinci Code", based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. The film was released May 19, 2006 in the U.S., and grossed over US$750 million worldwide. He followed the film with Ken Burns's 2007 documentary "The War". For the documentary, Hanks did voice work, reading excerpts from World War II-era columns by Al McIntosh. In 2006, Hanks topped a 1,500-strong list of "most trusted celebrities" compiled by "Forbes" magazine. Hanks also produced the animated children's movie "The Ant Bully" in 2006.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks next appeared in a cameo role as himself in "The Simpsons Movie", in which he appeared in an advertisement claiming that the U.S. government has lost its credibility and is hence buying some of his. He also made an appearance in the credits, expressing a desire to be left alone when he is out in public. Later in 2006, Hanks produced the British film "Starter for Ten", a comedy based on working-class students attempting to win on "University Challenge".


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2007, Hanks starred in Mike Nichols's film "Charlie Wilson's War" (written by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin) in which he played Democratic Texas Congressman Charles Wilson. The film opened on December 21, 2007, and Hanks received a Golden Globe nomination. In the comedy-drama film "The Great Buck Howard" (2008), Hanks played the on-screen father of a young man (played by Hanks' real-life son Colin) who chooses to work as road manager for a fading mentalist (John Malkovich). His character was less than thrilled about his son's career decision. In the same year, he executive produced the musical comedy "Mamma Mia" and the miniseries "John Adams".


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks' next endeavor, released on May 15, 2009, was a film adaptation of "Angels & Demons", based on the novel of the same name by Dan Brown. Its April 11, 2007 announcement revealed that Hanks would reprise his role as Robert Langdon, and that he would reportedly receive the highest salary ever for an actor. The following day he made his 10th appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live", impersonating himself for the "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketch. Hanks produced the Spike Jonze film "Where The Wild Things Are", based on the children's book by Maurice Sendak in 2009.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2010, Hanks reprised his voice role of Woody in "Toy Story 3" after he, Tim Allen, and John Ratzenberger were invited to a movie theater to see a complete story reel of the movie. The film went on to become the first animated film to gross a worldwide total of over $1 billion as well as the highest-grossing animated film at the time. He was also executive producer of the miniseries "The Pacific".


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2011, he directed and starred opposite Julia Roberts in the title role in the romantic comedy "Larry Crowne". The movie received poor reviews, with only 35% of the 175 Rotten Tomatoes reviews giving it high ratings. Also in 2011, he starred in the drama film "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close". In 2012, he voiced the character Cleveland Carr for a web series he created titled "Electric City". He also starred in the Wachowskis-directed film adaptation of the novel of the same name, "Cloud Atlas", and was executive producer of the miniseries "Game Change".


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2013, Hanks starred in two critically acclaimed films—"Captain Phillips "and" Saving Mr. Banks—"which each earned him praise, including nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for the former role. In "Captain Phillips", he starred as Captain Richard Phillips with Barkhad Abdi, which was based on the Maersk Alabama hijacking. In "Saving Mr. Banks", co-starring Emma Thompson and directed by John Lee Hancock, he played Walt Disney, being the first actor to portray Disney in a mainstream film. That same year, Hanks made his Broadway debut, starring in Nora Ephron's "Lucky Guy", for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2014, Hanks' short story "Alan Bean Plus Four" was published in the October 27 issue of "The New Yorker". Revolving around four friends who make a voyage to the moon, the short story is titled after the Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean. "Slate" magazine's Katy Waldman found his first published short story "mediocre", writing that "Hanks' shopworn ideas about technology might have yet sung if they hadn't been wrapped in too-clever lit mag-ese". In an interview with "The New Yorker", Hanks said he has always been fascinated by space. He told the magazine that he built plastic models of rockets when he was a child and watched live broadcasts of space missions back in the 1960s.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In March 2015, Hanks appeared in the Carly Rae Jepsen music video for "I Really Like You", lip-syncing most of the song's lyrics as he goes through his daily routine. His next film was the Steven Spielberg-directed historical drama "Bridge of Spies", in which he played lawyer James B. Donovan who negotiated for the release of pilot Francis Gary Powers by the Soviet Union in exchange for KGB spy Rudolf Abel. It was released in October 2015 to a positive reception. In April 2016, Hanks starred as Alan Clay in the comedy-drama "A Hologram for the King", an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name. It is the second time he was directed by Tom Tykwer after Cloud Atlas in 2012.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks starred as airline captain Chesley Sullenberger in Clint Eastwood's "Sully", which was released in September 2016. He next reprised his role as Robert Langdon in "Inferno" (2016), and co-starred alongside Emma Watson in the 2017 science fiction drama "The Circle". He voiced David S. Pumpkins in "The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special", which aired October 28, 2017 on NBC, a character he had portrayed in episodes of "Saturday Night Live".


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks reprised his voice role as Sheriff Woody in Pixar's "Toy Story 4", which was released on June 21, 2019. Later that year, Hanks portrayed Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller's biographical film "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" for which he was nominated for his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film was released on November 22, 2019, by Sony Pictures.


title: Tom Hanks

text: On April 11, 2020, Hanks made his first television appearance since his COVID-19 diagnosis by hosting "Saturday Night Live". Hanks delivered an opening monologue via his house but did not appear in any of the sketches. This is the first episode of "SNL" to debut after the show's hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it features different sketches filmed remotely from the cast members' homes. This is also a first in "SNL" history, for the show to be made up entirely of prerecorded content before airing, and the second to not be filmed at Studio 8H.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks had two films released in 2020. In July 2020, Hanks starred in "Greyhound", a war film which he also wrote the screenplay for. Initially set to be theatrically released in June 2020 by Sony Pictures, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, distribution rights to the film were bought by Apple TV+, where it was released in July 2020. Later that year, Hanks starred in the western drama film "News of the World", re-teaming with director Paul Greengrass, which was released on December 23, 2020. Film critic David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised Hanks' performance in his review writing, "Hanks has built a career out of playing thoroughly decent men, so his casting here is entirely to type. But the soulfulness and sorrow, the innate compassion that ripple through his characterization make this an enormously pleasurable performance to watch, with new depths of both kindness and regret that keep revealing themselves."


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2021, Hanks starred in the science fiction drama "Finch", directed by Miguel Sapochnik, and released by Apple TV+.


title: Tom Hanks

text: On March 2, 2022, Connor Ratliff appeared as a guest on "Late Night With Seth Meyers," where he revealed that Hanks would at last be interviewed for the season three finale of Ratliff's podcast "Dead Eyes". The conversation between Hanks and Ratliff took place 22 years after Ratliff was about to begin filming an episode of "Band of Brothers", when he was subsequently fired, allegedly because Hanks believed Ratliff had "dead eyes". The 90 minute interview was hailed as a momentous achievement in podcasting, a "rare show that gives you a perfect conclusion", "surprisingly funny and empathetic", and an event Paul Scheer called "thrilling".


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2022, Hanks starred as Tom Parker, the sole manager of Elvis Presley, in "Elvis", directed by Baz Luhrmann. Shooting commenced in the beginning of 2020 in Queensland, Australia. The film was released in June 2022.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In November 2018, it was reported that Hanks was in talks to portray Geppetto in Walt Disney Studios' live-action adaptation of "Pinocchio". His involvement in the film, which was directed by his longtime collaborator Zemeckis, was officially confirmed in December 2020.


title: Tom Hanks

text: HBO confirmed in January 2013 that it was developing a third World War II miniseries based on the book "Masters of the Air" by Donald L. Miller with Hanks and Spielberg to follow "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific". Few details have emerged about the project since, but "NME" reported in March 2017 that production was progressing under the working title "The Mighty Eighth". On October 11, 2019, it was announced that the series would keep the title from the book and that the miniseries will stream on Apple TV+ due to budget constraints at HBO. "Masters of the Air" is expected to cost $200 million with a duration of at least eight hours.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In July 2021, it was announced Hanks would set to appear in Wes Anderson's "Asteroid City" starring Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Adrien Brody. Hanks is also attached to star in an American remake of "A Man Called Ove", named "A Man Called Otto" which will be directed by Marc Forster, and "In the Garden of Beasts", an adaptation of the 2011 non fiction book from director Joe Wright about American diplomat William Dodd.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In February 2022, it was announced that Hanks will star in the feature adaptation of "Here", a graphic novel by Richard McGuire, directed by Robert Zemeckis.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In Hanks' career as an actor and producer, he has received many award nominations. Hanks has received six Academy Award nominations including two consecutive wins for Best Actor for "Philadelphia", and "Forrest Gump" in 1993, and 1994 respectively. Hanks also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Nora Ephron's play "Lucky Guy" in 2013. Hanks has also received 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on television which includes 7 wins for his work as a producer on various limited series and television films including "From the Earth to the Moon" (1998), "Band of Brothers" (2002), "John Adams" (2008), "The Pacific" (2010), "Game Change" (2012), and "Olive Kitteridge" (2015).


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks married American actress Samantha Lewes (1952–2002) in 1978. They had one son, actor Colin (born 1977), and one daughter, Elizabeth (born 1982). Hanks and Lewes divorced in 1987. Lewes died in 2002 at the age of 49 from bone cancer.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 1981, Hanks met actress Rita Wilson on the set of TV comedy "Bosom Buddies" (1980–1982). They were reunited in 1985 on the set of "Volunteers". Wilson is of Greek and Bulgarian descent, and a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. Before marrying her, Hanks converted to her faith. Hanks and Wilson married in 1988 and have two sons. The older, Chester Marlon "Chet", released a rap song in 2011 and had recurring roles in "Empire" and "Shameless". Their younger, Truman Theodore, was born in 1995. Hanks lives with his family in Los Angeles, California, and Ketchum, Idaho.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks actively attends church. He said, "I must say that when I go to church—and I do go to church—I ponder the mystery. I meditate on the 'why?' of 'why people are as they are' and 'why bad things happen to good people,' and 'why good things happen to bad people'[...] The mystery is what I think is, almost, the grand unifying theory of all mankind."


title: Tom Hanks

text: Despite being a fan of the Oakland Athletics and the Raiders when they were based in Oakland, Hanks stated in April 2017 he would boycott the NFL for two years after the Raiders filed for relocation to Las Vegas.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In November 2019, shortly before the release of "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood", a drama film in which Hanks portrays Fred Rogers, he learned through Ancestry.com that he and Rogers were sixth cousins, both descendants of Johannes Meffert (1732–1795), who was born in Schöneck, Hesse and emigrated to the United States in the 18th century, settling in Kentucky and changing his last name to Mefford.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks is also a distant relative of the 16th US president, Abraham Lincoln. Hanks narrated the 2011 television program "Killing Lincoln".


title: Tom Hanks

text: On December 27, 2019, the President of Greece, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, signed an honorary naturalisation order for Hanks and his family, citing their "exceptional services to Greece", thus making him and his immediate family Greek citizens. Hanks, along with Wilson and their children, were conferred honorary citizenship for their role in bringing global attention and appealing for aid after a devastating wildfire that ripped through the seaside village of Mati, near Athens, in July 2018, which killed more than 100 people. Greece's Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos said Hanks "showed real interest in the people who suffered from the fire in Mati and promoted this issue in the global media".


title: Tom Hanks

text: On July 26, 2020, the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, accompanied with his wife, handed over Greek passports to both Hanks and Wilson.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks has donated to many Democratic politicians, and during the 2008 United States presidential election uploaded a video to his MySpace account endorsing Barack Obama. He also narrated a 2012 documentary, "The Road We've Traveled," created by Obama for America. In 2016, Hanks endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks was outspoken about his opposition to the 2008 Proposition8, an amendment to the California constitution that defined marriage as a union only between a man and a woman. Hanks and others raised over US$44 million to campaign against the proposition, in contrast to the supporters' $39 million, but Proposition8 passed with 52% of the vote. It was overruled in June 2013, when the Ninth Circuit lifted its stay of the district court's ruling, enabling Governor Jerry Brown to order same-sex marriage officiations to resume. While premiering a TV series in January 2009, Hanks called supporters of Proposition8 "un-American" and criticized LDS Church members, who were major proponents of the bill, for their views on marriage and role in supporting the bill. About a week later, he apologized for the remark, saying that nothing is more American than voting one's conscience.


title: Tom Hanks

text: A proponent of environmentalism, Hanks is an investor in electric vehicles and owns a Toyota RAV4 EV and the first production AC Propulsion eBox. He was a lessee of an EV1 before it was recalled, as chronicled in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" He was on the waiting list for an Aptera2 Series.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks serves as campaign chair of the Hidden Heroes Campaign of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. The stated mission of the campaign is to inspire a national movement to more effectively support the military and veteran caregivers.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2004, while touring the White House, Hanks learned that the press corps did not have a coffee pot, and shortly thereafter he donated an espresso machine. He again donated new machines in 2010 and 2017. His 2017 donation was accompanied by a note that read "To the White House Press Corps, Keep up the good fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Especially for the truth part."


title: Tom Hanks

text: A supporter of NASA's crewed space program, Hanks said he originally wanted to be an astronaut. Hanks is a member of the National Space Society, serving on the Board of governors of the nonprofit educational space advocacy organization founded by Wernher von Braun. He also produced the HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" about the Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon. In addition, Hanks co-wrote and co-produced "", an IMAX film about the moon landings. Hanks provided the voice-over for the premiere of the show "Passport to the Universe" at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2006, the Space Foundation awarded Hanks the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award, given annually to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In June 2006, Hanks was inducted as an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame for his accurate portrayal of a captain in the movie "Saving Private Ryan"; Hanks, who was unable to attend the induction ceremony, was the first actor to receive such an honor. In addition to his role in "Saving Private Ryan", Hanks was cited for serving as the national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign, for being the honorary chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign, and for his role in writing and helping to produce the Emmy Award-winning miniseries, "Band of Brothers". On March 10, 2008, Hanks was on hand at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct The Dave Clark Five.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks is a collector of manual typewriters and uses them almost daily. In August 2014, Hanks released Hanx Writer, an iOS app meant to emulate the experience of using a typewriter; within days the free app reached number one on the App Store.


title: Tom Hanks

text: After contracting and recovering from a COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic, Hanks and his wife donated their blood antibodies for virus research.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks is an ordained minister and on March 24, 2022 CBS News reported that he had recently officiated a wedding in Pittsburgh.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks wrote a collection of short stories inspired by his typewriter collection, "Uncommon Type", which was published in 2017.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks is often compared to James Stewart, and has also frequently been referred to as "America's Dad". In 2013, when he was starring in Nora Ephron's "Lucky Guy" on Broadway, he had crowds of 300 fans waiting for a glimpse of him after every performance. This is the highest number of expectant fans post-show of any Broadway performance.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks is ranked as the fifth-highest all-time box office star in North America, with a total gross of over $4.9 billion at the North American box office, an average of $100.8 million per film. Worldwide, his films have grossed over $9.96 billion.


title: Tom Hanks

text: In 2003, Hanks was voted Number 3 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time, and he is number 22 on VH1's list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time". He was included on "Forbes" list of the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world, in 2000, 2002 and 2003. As of January 2019, Hanks is currently voted #1 on Ranker's "The Best Actors in Film History".


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks was the guest on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs" (in the footsteps of John Huston, Arthur Rubinstein, Luciano Pavarotti, and more than 2,500 other celebrities who were "castaways" (guests on the show) since 1942) on May 8, 2016, giving a 45-minute interview with insights into his personal life and career.


title: Tom Hanks

text: Hanks was interviewed five times on WHYY-FM by Terry Gross on the radio show Fresh Air in Philadelphia. Topics included two segments on his lead role in "Captain Phillips", a movie about the real life story of a ship's captain hijacked by Somali pirates. Two interviews are about the 12 part miniseries "From Earth to the Moon", for which Hanks was executive producer and which was nominated for 17 Emmy Awards. The last interview segment comprises anecdotes shared by Hanks about his acting career.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Harry Potter is a film series based on the eponymous novels by J. K. Rowling. The series is produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and consists of eight fantasy films, beginning with "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (2001) and culminating with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" (2011). A spin-off prequel series, planned to consist of five films, started with "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (2016), marking the beginning of the Wizarding World shared media franchise.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The series was mainly produced by David Heyman, and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the three leading characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Four directors worked on the series: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates. Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007), while the remaining films' screenplays were written by Steve Kloves. Production took place over ten years, with the main story arc following Harry's quest to overcome his arch-enemy Lord Voldemort.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the seventh and final novel in the series, was adapted into two feature-length parts. "Part 1" was released in November 2010, and "Part 2" was released in July 2011.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: "Philosopher's Stone" and "Deathly Hallows – Part 2" are among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time—at 48th- and 15th-highest, respectively—with both grossing over $1 billion. It is the fourth-highest-grossing film series, with $7.7 billion in worldwide receipts.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: In late 1997, film producer David Heyman's London offices received a copy of the first book in what would become Rowling's series of seven "Harry Potter" novels. The book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", was relegated to a low-priority bookshelf, where it was discovered by a secretary who read it and gave it to Heyman with a positive review. Consequently, Heyman, who had originally disliked "the rubbish title", read the book himself. Highly impressed by Rowling's work, he began the process that led to one of the most successful cinematic franchises of all time.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Heyman's enthusiasm led to Rowling's 1999 sale of the film rights for the first four "Harry Potter" books to Warner Bros. for a reported £1 million (US$2,000,000). A demand Rowling made was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, allowing nevertheless for the inclusion of many Irish actors, such as Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and Eastern European actors in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" where characters from the book are specified as such. Rowling was hesitant to sell the rights because she "didn't want to give them control over the rest of the story" by selling the rights to the characters, which would have enabled Warner Bros. to make non-author-written sequels.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Although Steven Spielberg initially negotiated to direct the first film, he declined the offer. Spielberg contended that, in his opinion, there was every expectation of profit in making the film. He claims that making money would have been like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge." In the "Rubbish Bin" section of her website, Rowling maintains that she had no role in choosing directors for the films, writing "Anyone who thinks I could (or would) have 'veto-ed' him [Spielberg] needs their Quick-Quotes Quill serviced."


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: After Spielberg left, conversations began with other directors, including Chris Columbus, Jonathan Demme, Terry Gilliam, Mike Newell, Alan Parker, Wolfgang Petersen, Rob Reiner, Tim Robbins, Brad Silberling, and Peter Weir. Petersen and Reiner both pulled out of the running in March 2000. It was then narrowed down to Columbus, Gilliam, Parker, and Silberling. Rowling's first choice was Terry Gilliam. However, on 28 March 2000 Columbus was appointed as director of the film, with Warner Bros. citing his work on other family films such as "Home Alone" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" as influences for their decision.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Steve Kloves was selected to write the screenplay for the first film. He described adapting the book as "tough" since it did not "lend itself to adaptation as well as the next two books". Kloves was sent a "raft" of synopses of books proposed as film adaptations, with "Harry Potter" being the only one that jumped out at him. He went out and bought the book, becoming an instant fan. When speaking to Warner Bros. he stated that the film had to be British and true to the characters. David Heyman was confirmed to produce the film. Rowling received a large amount of creative control for the film, an arrangement that Columbus did not mind.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Warner Bros. had initially planned to release the first film over the 4 July 2001 weekend, making for such a short production window that several of the originally proposed directors had withdrawn themselves from contention. Eventually, due to time constraints, the date was put back to 16 November 2001.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: In 2000, after a seven-month search, lead actor Daniel Radcliffe was discovered by producer David Heyman and writer Steve Kloves seated just behind them in a theatre. In Heyman's own words, "There sitting behind me was this boy with these big blue eyes. It was Dan Radcliffe. I remember my first impressions: He was curious and funny and so energetic. There was real generosity too, and sweetness. But at the same time he was really voracious and with hunger for knowledge of whatever kind."


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Radcliffe had already established himself as an actor in the 1999 BBC television production of "David Copperfield" in which he played the title role's childhood years. Heyman persuaded Radcliffe's parents to allow him to audition for the part of Harry Potter, which involved Radcliffe being filmed. Rowling was enthusiastic after viewing Radcliffe's filmed test, saying she didn't think there was a better choice for the part of Harry Potter.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Also in 2000, the then unknown British actors Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were selected from thousands of auditioning children to play the roles of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively. Their only previous acting experience was in school plays. Grint was eleven years old and Watson ten at the time they were cast.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: "Los Angeles Times" writer Geoff Boucher, who conducted the above-mentioned interview with Heyman, added that the casting of the three major roles "is especially impressive in hindsight. The trio's selection was arguably one of the best show-business decisions over the past decade ... they have shown admirable grace and steadiness in the face of teen superstardom."


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Filming of the series began at Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England, in September 2000 and ended in December 2010, with post-production on the final film lasting until summer 2011. Leavesden Studios was the main base for filming "Harry Potter", and it opened to the public as a studio tour in 2012 (renamed as Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden).


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: David Heyman produced all the films in the series with his production company Heyday Films, while David Barron joined the series as an executive producer on "Chamber of Secrets" and "Goblet of Fire". Barron was later appointed producer on the last four films. Chris Columbus was an executive producer on the first two films alongside Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan, but he became a producer on the third film alongside Heyman and Radcliffe. Other executive producers include Tanya Seghatchian and Lionel Wigram. J. K. Rowling, author of the series, was asked to become a producer on "Goblet of Fire" but declined. She subsequently accepted the role on the two-part "Deathly Hallows".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Heyday Films and Columbus' company 1492 Pictures collaborated with Duncan Henderson Productions in 2001, Miracle Productions in 2002, and P of A Productions in 2004. Even though "Prisoner of Azkaban" was the final film produced by 1492 Pictures, Heyday Films continued with the franchise and collaborated with Patalex IV Productions in 2005. The sixth film in the series, "Half-Blood Prince", was the most expensive film to produce .


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Warner Bros. split the seventh and final novel in the series, "Deathly Hallows", into two cinematic parts. The two parts were filmed back-to-back from early 2009 to summer 2010, with the completion of reshoots taking place on 21 December 2010; this marked the end of filming "Harry Potter". Heyman stated that "Deathly Hallows" was "shot as one film" but released in two feature-length parts.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Tim Burke, the visual effects supervisor of the series, said of the production on "Harry Potter", "It was this huge family; I think there were over 700 people working at Leavesden, an industry in itself." David Heyman said, "When the first film opened, no way did I think we'd make eight films. That didn't seem feasible until after we'd done the fourth." Nisha Parti, the production consultant on the first film, said that Heyman "made the first film very much the way he felt the studio Warner Bros. wanted to make it". After the film's success, Heyman was given "more freedom".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: One of the aims of the filmmakers from the beginning of production was to develop the maturity of the films. Chris Columbus stated, "We realised that these movies would get progressively darker. Again, we didn't know "how" dark but we realised that as the kids get older, the movies get a little edgier and darker." This transpired with the succeeding three directors who would work on the series in the following years, with the films beginning to deal with issues such as death, betrayal, prejudice, and political corruption as the series developed narratively and thematically.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: After Chris Columbus had finished working on "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", he was hired to direct the second film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". The production started within a week after the release of the first film. Columbus was set to direct all entries in the series, but he did not want to return for the third film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", claiming he was "burned out". He moved to the position of producer, while Alfonso Cuarón was approached for the role of director. He was initially nervous about directing the instalment since he had not read any of the books or seen the films. After reading the series, he changed his mind and signed on to direct since he had immediately connected to the story.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Because Cuarón decided not to direct the fourth instalment, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", a new director had to be selected. Mike Newell was chosen to direct the film, but he declined to direct the next film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", which was given to David Yates, who also directed "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", becoming the only director to helm more than one film since Chris Columbus.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Chris Columbus said his vision of the first two films was of a "golden storybook, an old-fashioned look", while Alfonso Cuarón changed the visual tone of the series, desaturated the colour palette, and expanded the landscape around Hogwarts. Mike Newell decided to direct the fourth film as a "paranoid thriller", while David Yates wanted to "bring a sense of jeopardy and character to the world". Cuarón, Newell, and Yates have said that their challenge was striking a balance between making the films according to their individual vision, while working within a cinematic world already established by Columbus.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: David Heyman commented on the "generosity of the directors" by revealing that "Chris spent time with Alfonso, Alfonso spent time with Mike and Mike spent time with David, showing him an early cut of the film, talking through what it means to be a director and how they went about [making the films]."


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: David Heyman also said, "I suppose Chris Columbus was the most conservative choice from the studio's point of view. But he expressed real passion." Producer Tanya Seghatchian said they were "more adventurous" in choosing a director for the third film and went straight to Alfonso Cuarón. Mike Newell became the first British director of the series when he was chosen for the fourth film; Newell was considered to direct the first film before he dropped out. David Yates directed the final films after David Heyman thought him capable of handling the edgy, emotional, and political material of the later novels.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: All the directors have been supportive of each other. Chris Columbus praised the character development in the films, while Alfonso Cuarón admired the "quiet poetry" of David Yates' films. Mike Newell noted that each director had a different heroism, and David Yates views the first four films "respectfully and enjoy[s] them". Daniel Radcliffe said Yates "took the charm of the films that Chris made and the visual flair of everything that Alfonso did and the thoroughly British, bombastic nature of the film directed by Mike Newell" and added "his own sense" of realism.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Steve Kloves wrote the screenplays for all but the fifth film, which was penned by Michael Goldenberg. Kloves had direct assistance from J.K. Rowling, though she allowed him what he described as "tremendous elbow room". Rowling asked Kloves to remain faithful to the spirit of the books; thus, the plot and tone of each film and its corresponding book are virtually the same, albeit with some changes and omissions for purposes of cinematic style, time, and budget constraints. Michael Goldenberg also received input from Rowling during his adaptation of the fifth novel; Goldenberg was originally considered to adapt the first novel before the studio chose Kloves.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: In a 2010 interview, David Heyman briefly explained the book-to-film transition. He commented on Rowling's involvement in the series, stating that she understood that "books and films are different" and was "the best support" a producer could have. Rowling had overall approval on the scripts, which were viewed and discussed by the director and the producers. Heyman also said that Kloves was the "key voice" in the process of adapting the novels and that certain aspects from the books needed to have been excluded from the scripts due to the filmmakers' decision to keep the main focus on Harry's journey as a character, which would ultimately give the films a defined structure. Heyman mentioned that some fans "don't necessarily understand the adaptation process" and that the filmmakers would have loved to "have everything" from the books in the films but noted that it was not possible since they had "neither time nor cinematic structure" to do so. He finished by saying that adapting a novel to the screen is "a really considered process".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Because the films were being made as the novels were being published, the filmmakers had no idea of the story's outcome until the release of the final novel in 2007. Kloves spoke of his relationship with Rowling when adapting the novels by saying, "The thing is about Jo, which is remarkable for someone who had no experience with the filmmaking process, was her intuition. We had a conversation the very first day I met her where she said, 'I know the movies can't be the books ... because I know what's coming and it's impossible to fully dramatise on screen what I'm going to write. But I just ask you to be true to the characters; that's all I care about. Kloves also said, "I don't know what compelled me to say this [to Rowling], but I said, 'I've just got to warn you my favourite character is not Harry. My favourite character is Hermione.' And I think for some weird reason, from that moment on, she sort of trusted me."


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Aside from the three lead actors, other notable cast members include Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, and Dame Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall. Richard Harris, who played the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore, died on 25 October 2002 causing the role to be re-cast for the third instalment, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". David Heyman and director Alfonso Cuarón chose Michael Gambon to portray the character of Dumbledore, which he did for all succeeding films. Notable recurring cast members include Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick, Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, Brendan Gleeson as Alastor Moody, Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney, Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley, and Julie Walters as Molly Weasley.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The series has seen many returning crew members from various departments, including Tim Burke, visual effects supervisor; Peter Doyle, digital film colourist; Nick Dudman, make-up and creature effects designer; David Holmes, stunt double; Amanda Knight, make-up artist; Stephenie McMillan, set designer; Greg Powell, stunt coordinator; Jany Temime, costume designer; and Fiona Weir, casting director.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The production designer for all eight films is Stuart Craig. Assisted by Stephenie McMillan, Craig has created iconic sets pieces including the Ministry of Magic, the Chamber of Secrets, Malfoy Manor, and the layout for the CGI Horcrux Cave. Because the novels were being published as the films were being made, Craig was required to rebuild some sets for future films and alter the design of Hogwarts.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: He said, "In the early days, every time you saw the exterior of Hogwarts, it was a physical miniature", which was made by craftsmen and occupied a large sound stage. "We ended up with a profile of how Hogwarts looked, a skyline that actually I didn't design, and it wasn't always satisfactory, and as all the novels got written and movies got made there were new requirements [for buildings]. The [Astronomy Tower] definitely wasn't there originally, and so we were able to add that substantial piece. And in the last film, we needed an arena for the battle for Hogwarts – the big courtyard outside doubled in size, and if you look at the first movie it wasn't there at all. There were quite some liberties taken with the continuity of Hogwarts." In the last film, Craig used a digital model instead of a miniature to "embrace the latest technology".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: On the method of creating the sets, Craig said he often started by sketching ideas onto a blank sheet of paper. Stephenie McMillan also said that "each film always had plenty of new challenges", citing the changes in visual style between directors and cinematographers as an example, along with the developing story in the novels. Due to J.K. Rowling's descriptions of various settings in the novels, Craig noted his "responsibility was to place it together".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Craig commented on his experience working in the studio environment: "I'm the production designer, but on a big movie like "Harry Potter" I may be responsible for 30 to 35 people; from the supervising art director, and a team of art directors and assistants, to draughtsmen and junior draughtsmen, and then on to model makers, sculptors and scenic artists." He said, "Ten years ago, all the "Harry Potter" drawings were done in pencil. I would take my roughs and plans and sections and give them to a professional architectural illustrator, who would create concept art using pencil and colour wash on watercolour paper." He said the process changed slightly throughout the years due to, what he called, the "digital revolution" of making films.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: When filming of the series was completed, some of Craig's sets had to be rebuilt or transported for them to be displayed at the Warner Bros. studio tour.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Six directors of photography worked on the series: John Seale on the first film, Roger Pratt on the second and fourth, Michael Seresin on the third, Sławomir Idziak on the fifth, Bruno Delbonnel on the sixth, and Eduardo Serra on the seventh and eighth. Delbonnel was considered to return for both parts of "Deathly Hallows", but he declined, stating that he was "scared of repeating" himself. Delbonnel's cinematography in "Half-Blood Prince" gained the series its only Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. As the series progressed, each cinematographer faced the challenge of shooting and lighting older sets (which had been around since the first few films) in unique and different ways. Chris Columbus said the series' vivid colouring decreased as each film was made.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Michael Seresin commented on the change of visual style from the first two films to "Prisoner of Azkaban": "The lighting is moodier, with more shadowing and cross-lighting." Seresin and Alfonso Cuarón moved away from the strongly coloured and brightly lit cinematography of the first two films, with dimmer lighting and a more muted colour palette being utilised for the succeeding five films. After comparing a range of digital cameras with 35 mm film, Bruno Delbonnel decided to shoot the sixth movie, "Half-Blood Prince", on film rather than the increasingly popular digital format. This decision was kept for the two-part "Deathly Hallows" with Eduardo Serra, who said that he preferred to work with film because it was "more technically accurate and dependable".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Because the majority of "Deathly Hallows" takes place in various settings away from Hogwarts, David Yates wanted to "shake things up" by using different photographic techniques such as using hand-held cameras and very wide camera lenses. Eduardo Serra said, "Sometimes we are combining elements shot by the main unit, a second unit, and the visual effects unit. You have to know what is being captured – colours, contrast, et cetera – with mathematical precision." He noted that with Stuart Craig's "amazing sets and the story", the filmmakers could not "stray too far from the look of the previous "Harry Potter" films".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Along with continuous changes in cinematographers, there have been five film editors to work in post-production on the series: Richard Francis-Bruce edited the first instalment, Peter Honess the second, Steven Weisberg the third, Mick Audsley the fourth, and Mark Day films five through eight.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The "Harry Potter" series has had four composers. John Williams scored the first three films: "Philosopher's Stone", "Chamber of Secrets", and "Prisoner of Azkaban". Due to a busy 2002 schedule, Williams brought in William Ross to adapt and conduct the score for "Chamber of Secrets". Williams also created "Hedwig's Theme", the series leitmotif which appears in all eight films.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: After Williams left the series to pursue other projects, Patrick Doyle scored the fourth entry, "Goblet of Fire", which was directed by Mike Newell, with whom Doyle had worked previously. In 2006, Nicholas Hooper started work on the score to "Order of the Phoenix", reuniting with director David Yates. Hooper also composed the soundtrack to "Half-Blood Prince" but decided not to return for the final films.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: In January 2010, Alexandre Desplat was confirmed to compose the score for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1". The film's orchestration started in the summer with Conrad Pope, the orchestrator on the first three "Harry Potter" films, collaborating with Desplat. Pope commented that the music "reminds one of the old days". Desplat returned to score "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" in 2011.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Yates stated that he wanted Williams to return to the series for the final instalment, but their schedules did not align due to the urgent demand for a rough cut of the film. The final recording sessions of "Harry Potter" took place on 27 May 2011 at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra, Desplat and orchestrator Conrad Pope.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Doyle, Hooper and Desplat introduced their own personal themes to their respective soundtracks, while keeping a few of Williams' themes.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: There have been many visual effects companies to work on the "Harry Potter" series. Some of these include Rising Sun Pictures, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Double Negative, Cinesite, Framestore, and Industrial Light & Magic. The latter three have worked on all the films in the series, while Double Negative and Rising Sun Pictures began their commitments with "Prisoner of Azkaban" and "Goblet of Fire", respectively. Framestore contributed by developing many memorable creatures and sequences to the series. Cinesite was involved in producing both miniature and digital effects for the films. Producer David Barron said that ""Harry Potter" created the UK effects industry as we know it. On the first film, all the complicated visual effects were done on the [US] west coast. But on the second, we took a leap of faith and gave much of what would normally be given to Californian vendors to UK ones. They came up trumps." Tim Burke, the visual effects supervisor, said many studios "are bringing their work to UK effects companies. Every facility is fully booked, and that wasn't the case before "Harry Potter". That's really significant."


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: On 12 June 2010, filming of the "Deathly Hallows – Part 1" and "Part 2" was completed with actor Warwick Davis stating on his Twitter account, "The end of an Era – today is officially the last day of principal photography on 'Harry Potter' – ever. I feel honoured to be here as the director shouts cut for the very last time. Farewell Harry & Hogwarts, it's been magic!" However, reshoots of the epilogue scene were confirmed to begin in the winter of 2010. The filming was completed on 21 December 2010, marking the official closure of filming the "Harry Potter" franchise. Exactly four years earlier on that day, author J. K. Rowling's official website revealed the title of the final novel in the series – "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Harry Potter is an orphaned boy brought up by his unkind Muggle (non-magical) aunt and uncle. At the age of eleven, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid informs him that he is actually a wizard and that his parents were murdered by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort. Voldemort also attempted to kill one-year-old Harry on the same night, but his killing curse mysteriously rebounded and reduced him to a weak and helpless form. Harry became extremely famous in the Wizarding World as a result. Harry begins his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and learns about magic. During the year, Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger become entangled in the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone which is being kept within the school.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts for their second year, which proves to be more challenging than the last. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, leaving students and ghosts petrified by an unleashed monster. Harry must face up to claims that he is the heir of Salazar Slytherin (founder of the Chamber), learn that he can speak Parseltongue, and also discover the properties of a mysterious diary, only to find himself trapped within the Chamber itself.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Harry's third year sees the boy wizard, along with his friends, attending Hogwarts School once again. Professor R. J. Lupin joins the staff as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, while convicted murderer Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic entrusts the Dementors to guard Hogwarts from Black. Harry learns more about his past and his connection with the escaped prisoner.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: During Harry's fourth year, Hogwarts plays host to the Triwizard Tournament. Three European schools participate in the tournament, with three 'champions' representing each school in the deadly tasks. The Goblet of Fire chooses Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Cedric Diggory to compete against each other. However, Harry's name is also produced from the Goblet thus making him a fourth champion, which leads to a terrifying encounter with a reborn Lord Voldemort.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Harry's fifth year begins with him being attacked by Dementors in Little Whinging. Later, he finds out that the Ministry of Magic is in denial of Lord Voldemort's return. Harry is also beset by disturbing and realistic nightmares, while Professor Umbridge, a representative of Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry becomes aware that Voldemort is after a prophecy which reveals: "neither can live while the other survives". The rebellion involving the students of Hogwarts, secret organisation Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic, and the Death Eaters begins.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: In Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters are increasing their terror upon the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore persuades his old friend Horace Slughorn to return to Hogwarts as a professor as there is a vacancy to fill. There is a more important reason, however, for Slughorn's return. While in a Potions lesson, Harry takes possession of a strangely annotated school textbook, inscribed as belonging to the 'Half-Blood Prince'. Draco Malfoy struggles to carry out a mission presented to him by Voldemort. Meanwhile, Dumbledore and Harry secretly work together to discover how to destroy the Dark Lord once and for all.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: After unexpected events at the end of the previous year, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are entrusted with a quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's secret to immortality – the Horcruxes. It is supposed to be their final year at Hogwarts, but the collapse of the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort's rise to power prevents them from attending. The trio undergo an arduous journey with many obstacles in their path including Death Eaters, Snatchers, the mysterious Deathly Hallows, and Harry's connection with the Dark Lord's mind becoming ever stronger.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: After destroying one Horcrux and discovering the significance of the three Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron and Hermione continue to seek the other Horcruxes in an attempt to destroy Voldemort, who has now obtained the powerful Elder Wand. The Dark Lord discovers Harry's hunt for his Horcruxes and launches an attack on Hogwarts, where the trio return for one last stand against the dark forces that threaten both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The rights for the first four novels in the series were sold to Warner Bros. for £1,000,000 by J.K. Rowling. After the release of the fourth book in July 2000, the first film, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", was released on 16 November 2001. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $90 million in the United States alone, which set a record opening worldwide. The succeeding three motion picture adaptations followed suit in financial success, while garnering positive reviews from fans and critics. The fifth film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", was released by Warner Bros. on 11 July 2007 in English-speaking countries, except for the UK and Ireland, which released the movie on 12 July. The sixth, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was released on 15 July 2009 to critical acclaim and finished its theatrical run ranked as the number two grossing film of 2009 on the worldwide charts.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The final novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", was split into two cinematic parts: "Part 1" was released on 19 November 2010, and "Part 2", the conclusion to both the final film and the series, was released on 15 July 2011. "Part 1" was originally scheduled to be released in 3D and 2D, but due to a delay in the 3D conversion process, Warner Bros. released the film only in 2D and IMAX cinemas. However, "Part 2" was released in 2D and 3D cinemas as originally planned.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The television broadcast rights for the series in the US are currently held by NBCUniversal, which typically airs the films on USA Network and Syfy. The film series has accrued nearly 1.3 billion viewings since its television debut—the highest-watched franchise in television broadcast history. All eight films became available to stream exclusively on HBO Max on 27 May 2020, the launch date of the service.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of "Philosopher's Stone", in November 2021, it was announced that the entire film series would be relaunched in cinemas in Brazil, as well as a special edition of "Philosopher's Stone" on HBO Max. Much of the original cast and crew reunited for an HBO Max retrospective special titled "", released on 1 January 2022.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: The "Harry Potter" films have been top-rank box office hits, with all eight releases on the list of highest-grossing films worldwide. "Philosopher's Stone" was the highest-grossing "Harry Potter" film up until the release of the final instalment of the series, "Deathly Hallows Part 2", while "Prisoner of Azkaban" grossed the least. As well as being a financial success, the film series has also been a success among film critics. Opinions of the films are generally divided among fans, with one group preferring the more faithful approach of the first two films, and another group preferring the more stylised character-driven approach of the later films. Rowling has been consistently supportive of all the films and evaluated "Deathly Hallows" as her "favourite one" in the series.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: All the films have been a success financially and critically, making the franchise one of the major Hollywood "tent-poles" akin to "James Bond", "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones" and "Pirates of the Caribbean". The series is noted by audiences for growing visually darker and more mature as each film was released. However, opinions of the films generally divide book fans, with some preferring the more faithful approach of the first two films and others preferring the more stylised character-driven approach of the later films.


title: Harry Potter (film series)

text: Some have also felt the series has a "disjointed" feel due to the changes in directors, as well as Michael Gambon's portrayal of Albus Dumbledore differing from that of Richard Harris. Author J. K. Rowling has been consistently supportive of the films, and evaluated "Deathly Hallows" as her favourite one in the series. She wrote on her website of the changes in the book-to-film transition, "It is simply impossible to incorporate every one of my storylines into a film that has to be kept under four hours long. Obviously films have restrictions – novels do not have constraints of time and budget; I can create dazzling effects relying on nothing but the interaction of my own and my readers' imaginations."