Tom Hanks Believes He Only Has 4 'Pretty Good' Films

Despite the scores of films two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks has featured in, he just revealed that he only thought of four of them as "pretty good." Hanks had his breakthrough roles in 1984 when the actor joined the cast of "Splash."

The "Saving Private Ryan" actor went on to win two consecutive Academy awards for his roles in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump." Hanks has starred in several more movies and earned a number of other awards over the years. His most recent movie credit is the "Elvis" biopic, where the actor played Colonel Tom Parker.

While talking about his upcoming literary work, Hanks shed light on the world of movie making and revealed that not many people were knowledgeable in the area. The actor also admitted that he thought only four titles out of his almost hundred films were good.

Read on to learn more.

According to Hanks, he has been featured in only four "pretty good" films by his standards. This number is a meager amount, especially when placed alongside the 66-year-old's 85 films he was a part of from the start of his acting career over three decades ago.

Hanks is currently writing his debut novel, "The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece." The literary work will be released to the public in May 2023 and will focus on the movie industry and how a movie masterpiece is put together.

The "Elvis" star joined People Magazine to promote the book and, in the process, revealed the count of his "pretty good" films. "No one knows how a movie is made – though everyone thinks they do," Hanks said. "I've made a ton of movies, and four of them are pretty good, I think, and I'm still amazed at how films come together. From a flicker of an idea to the flickering image onscreen, the whole process is a miracle."

Since Hanks refrained from calling out the names of his four preferred titles, singling them out will not be an easy task. This is mainly due to the vast amount of films the 66-year-old has acted in since the start of his 30 years long acting career.

Hanks first started making waves in the early 1980s after appearing in films like "Splash!," "Bachelor Party," "The Burbs" and "Big." The actor got his first Oscar nomination for his role as Josh Baskin in "Big." The 66-year-old's career took an entirely different turn in the 1990s after he starred in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump."

"Philadelphia," released in 1994, earned Hanks his first Oscar award, and a year later, the actor received a second Academy award for his role in "Forrest Gump." The actor was also nominated for "Saving Private Ryan," "Cast Away," and "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."

Hanks' most recent movie credit is his role in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" biopic alongside Austin Butler. The actor's role was as Colonel Tom Parker, the infamous manager of the King of Rock and Roll. In a previous interview with People, Hanks revealed that he initially did not want to play the role; however, Luhrmann convinced him.

"I'm not interested in playing a bad guy just for the sake of, 'Before I kill you, Mr. Bond, perhaps you'd like a tour of my installations.' That's OK, I get it, but that's for other stuff," Hanks said.

At the time, the 66-year-old revealed that he did not particularly know what Parker looked like, so when the director described the character as a carnival worker or a "great carney," he was intrigued.

The actor explained, "The carney's job is to bring people to the glittering lights on the outside of town, promise them something they've never experienced before, and then, almost giving it to them, at a cost. When he said that, I said, 'I'm your man — now, please, show me a picture.'"

After seeing the picture, the actor revealed that he regretted his previous decision because he realized he would need to enlist the aid of a makeup team. "When he showed me a picture of the Colonel, I thought, 'Oh, my God, what have I done?'" Hanks recalled.

Hanks is writing his first novel, "The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece," which is set to be released on May 9, 2023. The fictional work will reportedly be centered on the making of a "colossal, star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film and the humble comic book that inspired it. "

The book, according to Hanks, was inspired by his life in Hollywood and the experiences that came with it. Each character in the novel reportedly has roots in the things the 66-year-old has encountered during his decades-old movie-making career.

The actor explained, "The source for a movie can go back as many years as are in history. A story turns on a single moment in the life of someone, then all the anecdotes of the current day magnify that moment. Going back to 1947 makes sense, as would have starting in, say, 1559. Human yearning has proven to be timeless."

The characters in the novel include a male actor who is "extremely difficult" as well as a leading female actress Hanks described as "wonderful." The rest included an "eccentric" director who tries to make the big-budget movie out of a comic book, the producer, the production assistant, and other crew members.