Everything I need to know, I learned from Tom Hanks
Today, July 9th, is Tom Hanks’ birthday. The Tom Hanks. The man who was once voted the most trusted man in the entire United States. Look, we all love Hanks, and if you don’t, you are full of lies. Today, in honor of Hanks’ birthday, we celebrate him EINTKILF style. EINTKILF Tom Hanks1. Embrace your fans. Tom Hanks is well known for showing up in random places to surprise his fans. Have you ever seen his selfies with the silly drunk man in that diner? Or his stint on Humans of New York as told by a cab driver? Or basically anytime he has ever posed with a fan? I always really admire and appreciate famous people who remain humble enough to shout out their fans. Sure, I understand the people who get annoyed when they are trying to have dinner with their family or whatever, but I extra love Hanks for having a clean and friendly record among his fans. 2. How to write a speech.
I have said this before and I will say it right now and I will definitely say it again at some point, but if you have never watched either of Hanks’ Academy Award acceptance speeches, you are a monster who should redeem yourself immediately. On a serious note, though, Hanks’ speeches are so much more than a typical Oscar speech. His first win was for his role in Philadelphia, so naturally his speech was significant and memorable. After speaking of two important men in his life, both who are gay like his character in the film, Hanks goes on to say:
What a guy, to acknowledge his privilege to simply act in a role when there are countless people in heaven who passed away because of AIDS. I cannot praise this speech enough, from beginning to end. Hanks’ speech for Forrest Gump was equally touching and leaves me sobbing each time. The man has a way with words. Give him more gold, please.3. The meaning of true friendship.
If you have never seen Cast Away, first of all, what are you doing? And second of all, you probably still know who Wilson is because you just have to know who Wilson is. Even though Hanks was playing a character in Cast Away, he has not shied away from accepting any and all Wilson references in his real life. Why? Because Hanks knows how to be a darn good friend, even to an old volleyball. 4. Never become too serious.
Based on the aforementioned endeavors of Hanks, you can assume he is a pretty light-hearted guy. Though he has played lead roles in many serious films (Saving Private Ryan, y’all), he is not to be taken too seriously in real life. Hanks is always out there in the world, being upbeat and goofy. He jokes a lot, he’s fun to be around I ASSUME, and I just love a happy man. 5. SUPPORT WOMEN.
Hanks’ Twitter account is the stuff dreams are made of, especially because he always signs his tweets “Hanx,” which is similar to how adorable it is when your parents sign their text messages. Hanks talks about a variety of things on Twitter, encouraging you to read books (especially that his friends are starring in the film version of) and various other nice things. My favorite Hanks tweets include when he shouts out awesome women, like his series of U.S. Women’s soccer team, or his tweet about who he thinks should make the face of our new currency. You go, Hanks.
6. Embrace the youths. I just feel like no one talks about how Hanks is the star of Carly Rae Jepsen’s music video. It’s so random and wonderful and it seems like a thing the internet would love and never let go, but nope. Regardless, the fact that Hanks was like, “Yep, I will be the co-star of your video for a song called ‘I Really Like You.’ My numerous Oscars and I–see you there!” makes Hanks wonderful. Best man alive, tbh. 7. Movies cure loneliness.
