Sleepless In Seatle (1993)
Written and directed by the legend that was Nora Ephron, Sleepless in Seattle is timeless. Hanks stars as widowed Seattle-based father Sam, whose eight-year-old son Jonah calls into a radio station to find him another wife. Cue thousands of singletons writing him letters and pleading to meet – including Annie (Meg Ryan), an engaged reporter based on the east coast.
2/9
Apollo 13 (1995)
A testament to human courage, Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 revisits NASA’s fabled 1970 mission – in which three astronauts en route to the moon found themselves adrift in space after an on-board explosion. Hanks stars as mission commander Jim Lovell, who takes charge of bringing his fellow astronauts safely home against the odds.
3/9
The Terminal (2004)
Hanks is his most charming self in Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal, which sees him play a tourist from the fictional country of Krakozhia who gets trapped in New York’s JFK airport when a military coup renders his passport invalid and he is forced to live in the airport. Let this movie be a lesson on how to make the best out of a bad situation.
4/9
Toy Story (1995)
What could be more guaranteed to cheer you up than Toy Story? When Andy receives Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) for his birthday, Hank's Woody becomes jealous and threatened as his position as Andy's favourite toy becomes threatened. Ending with Randy Newmans, You've Got A Friend In Me, you are sure to leave the film with a warm heart and a big smile.
5/9
Castaway (2000)
Not every moment of Castaway is exactly calming to watch, but this story of a UPS employee stranded on a desert island after a plane crash has never felt more… relatable. The key takeaway: find your self-isolation equivalent of Wilson the Volleyball – sharpish.
6/9
You've Got Mail (1998)
While in-person dating is well and truly off the cards, consider striking up an email romance a la this ’90s rom-com. Hanks stars as Joe (screen name: NY152), who meets Kathleen (Ryan), an independent bookshop manager, in a chatroom for “over-30s”, where she posts messages as “Shopgirl”. The only problem? Joe’s chainstore is about to put Kathleen out of business. Frankly, it’s just nice to be reminded that the “World Wide Web” was once such an innocent place.
7/9
Big (1988)
After 12-year-old Josh wishes to be “big” at a fortune-telling stall, he wakes up the next morning to discover he’s now 30. Cut to him trying to navigate life as an adult, from getting a job at a toy conglomerate to fielding passes from grown women, with the unbridled joyfulness of a child. If the scene in which Hanks plays “Chopsticks” with his feet on a giant piano doesn’t make you smile, nothing will.
8/9
A League Of Their Own (1992)
“There is no crying in baseball.” If you’re in need of some tough Hanks love, watch A League Of Their Own, which sees Hanks play a former Cubs slugger forced to manage an all-girls baseball team during World War II. Among the members of the Rockford Peaches? Geena Davis as Dottie Hinson, Madonna as “All the way” Mae, and Rosie O’Donnell as Doris Murphy.