1Appearing on ‘P.I.P.’s’
Walt Disney Television Photo Archives//Getty Images In 1980, Hanks and fellow Bosom Buddies actor, Peter Scolari, were interviewed by ABC for a television special. This was the same year that Bosom Buddies came on the air. Scolari sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 56.
2‘Bosom Buddies’
Walt Disney Television Photo Archives//Getty Images A then-25-year-old Hanks is pictured here in 1981, posing on the set of Bosom Buddies. The show also starred Holland Taylor and lasted two seasons. “I can say I absolutely knew Tom Hanks was going to be an enormous star in our first rehearsal,” Taylor told People in 2020.
3'Splash'
Michael Ochs Archives//Getty Images A couple of years after Bosom Buddies ended, Hanks appeared on the big screen in the Ron Howard-directed film, Splash. In it, Hanks played a man named Allen Bauer who falls in love with a mermaid named Madison, played by Daryl Hannah. Hanks told Entertainment Weekly earlier this year that he was cast in the film after Howard saw him as a guest star on Happy Days.
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4Fox Studios Backlot
Nik Wheeler//Getty Images Here, Hanks is pictured posing at the Fox Studios Backlot in 1984. The young actor would star in Big some years later.
5 ‘Volunteers’
Hulton Archive//Getty Images In 1985, Hanks appeared in Volunteers, a film directed by Nicholas Meyer that also boasted John Candy and Hanks's future wife, Rita Wilson, as part of its cast. Interestingly enough, this was not the first time Wilson and Hanks crossed paths—the two met years earlier and became quick friends when Wilson guest starred on Bosom Buddies.
6‘Saturday Night Live’
NBC//Getty Images In December 1985, Hanks appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside Jon Lovitz and Damon Wayans. The three were part of a skit titled, “The Stand Ups.”
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7 ‘Nothing in Common’ Screening
Frank Edwards//Getty Images Hanks is pictured here walking the red carpet for a screening of Nothing in Common with Wilson. The two had recently gone public with their relationship.
8'Big'
Aaron Rapoport//Getty Images Still considered a classic today, in the mid-80s, Hanks starred in Big as Josh, a young boy who wishes to be “big” and wakes up the next morning as an adult. The movie stars Jon Lovitz and John Heard and was nominated for two Oscars.
9 Deauville American Film Festival
GARCIA//Getty Images In 1988, Hanks went to France to attend the Deauville American Film Festival with his wife, Wilson. The two had gotten married just a few months earlier.
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