Hanks has been on our screens since before you were born (unless you were born before 1980, in which case, he’s just been on your screen for a very long time). It’s safe to say that if cinema was a pub, he would be the regular in the corner spouting jokes and buying everyone a drink. Can you think of a better way to recognise a winner like this but his very own Top Ten?

#10 – Apollo 13

It doesn’t really feel right having a countdown because that means that one of the films technically has to come ‘last’. But if it has to be anything, the top ten begins with Apollo 13. It’s perhaps one of the more overlooked films of Tom Hanks’ mid-nineties hey-dey, but his role as Jim Lovell made up a third of the men who were literally trapped in space in 1963, and made for a very convincing spaceman.

#9 – The Green Mile

His peep might have been on the fritz, but Hanks’ prison guard character Paul Edgecomb provided much-needed compassion to this otherwise pretty sinister film. Released in 1999, The Green Mile is based on a Steven King novel and is a great adaptation – a rare thing – but possibly not the best prison film from director Frank Darabont (sorry Tom – it was good, but it wasn’t Shawshank good).

#8 – Catch Me If You Can

Proving not for the first time that he’ll have a good go at any accent, Hanks starred as FBI agent Carl Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can. Even though he did what we never wanted him to do and caught Leo prancing about his crazy money making machine, Hanks gave us some genuinely good comedy moments in Steven Spielberg’s 2002 release.

#7 – Big

Film of our childhoods? Well, one of them at least. With Tom Hanks and the freaky fortune telling machine that made me afraid of funfairs for quite some time, Big was released in 1988 and soon cemented its place as a classic, with one of the best ever Hanks moments – the keyboard scene. What else?

#6 – Cast Away

WILLLSSOOOON. Somehow, Tom Hanks engaged us for two hours with his performance as Chuck Noland in Cast Away. Note: If an actor can make us fall in love with a ball, he deserves all the awards he can carry. Our favourite has to be the ‘Best On Screen-Team’ at the 2001 MTV Movie Awards for the Hanks and Wilson partnership.

#5 – Turner and Hooch

Devestated by the decision at the 2001 MTV Movie Awards, Hooch the dog has to come a close second as best Tom Hanks side-kick. It was a match made in heaven, Turner was all OCD and Hooch was a big slobbery dog. What could go wrong, people? Released way back in 1989, this is early-comedy Hanks at its best.

#4 – Saving Private Ryan

Anyone who has seen it will always remember the first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Sure, it wasn’t a one man show, but Hanks was a key member of the cast of this fantastic World War II film that grossed a massive $481.8 million worldwide and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards. Let’s face it, everyone knows someone with a copy of Saving Private Ryan on the shelf.

#3 – Toy Story

Oh Tom, we enjoyed you even more as an animated cowboy. Pick either 1, 2, or 3, cos they are all worthy of Hanks’ top ten. The Toy Story trilogy spans fifteen years and there hasn’t been one moment of that when we haven’t thought about Woody’s arm flailing. We. want. Toy Story 4!

#2 – Philadelphia

Philadelphia had to be near the top; not only did it showcase Hanks in a particularly challenging role, but it also succeeded as one of the first Hollywood films to confront AIDS discrimination issues as it based itself around the true events of a 1987 court case. Jonathan Demme’s direction was strong, and Denzel Washington did what Denzel Washington does best, but Hanks’ acting skills are certainly what made this film great.

#1 – Forrest Gump

Rounding off the top ten, it’s Forrest Gump! The film had everything you could possibly need; there was a leg-brace, there was childhood bullying, there was ‘Nam, there was Gary Sinise, there was ping-pong, there was love, death, running, too many amazing catch-phrases to name, but most importantly, there was boiled shrimp, baked shrimp, sauted shrimp, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp soup…

So there concludes our top ten Tom Hanks movies. If you for some reason think The Terminal deserves to be on here, or that Hanks as Robert Langdon was the best thing since Christian-based action-thrillers, comments below!