Tom Hanks Quotes

“A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown.”

“Actors with political views are a dime a dozen.”

“And then it was like, wait, you can go to college and study theater? And act in plays? This is almost a racket, you know. And then when the opportunity came along to do it professionally, I thought I'd won the lottery.”

“As long as you as an individual... can convince yourself that in order to move forward as best you can you have to be optimistic, you can be described as 'one of the faithful', one of those people who can say: Well, look, something's going to happen! Let's just keep trying. Let's not give up.”

“At the end of the day it's got to be a good movie, it's got to be a funny movie, and it's got to make people think: Hey, I couldn't have spent my time any better.”

“Believing is seeing and seeing is believing.”

“Childish, selfish, immature – that's right, I am. But do you know how much money I make for thinking this way?”

“E-mail is far more convenient than the telephone, as far as I'm concerned. I would throw my phone away if I could get away with it.”

“Even if a story has nothing to do with my life, if I can recognise something of myself in the character and think, 'Oh yeah, that's what I'd do...' Yeah, that's what I look for.”

“Everybody has something that chews them up and, for me, that thing was always loneliness. The cinema has the power to make you not feel lonely, even when you are.”

“For some people, I will be Forrest Gump for the rest of my life. But that's OK; that's a good thing.”

“Forrest Gump was great, it was fabulous. It lasted much longer than anybody thought, and brought me a degree of attention that no human being on the face of the planet deserves.”

“Growing up in northern California has had a big influence on my love and respect for the outdoors. When I lived in Oakland, we would think nothing of driving to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz one day and then driving to the foothills of the Sierras the next day.”

“Human beings do things for a reason, even if sometimes it's the wrong reason.”

“I also think all of the great stories in literature deal with loneliness. Sometimes it's by way of heartbreak, sometimes it's by way of injustice, sometimes it's by way of fate. There's an infinite number of ways to examine it.”

“I am who I am, and I think I have a good nature, by and large. But if someone takes advantage of that good nature, well then, you know, I'm not that nice a guy.”

“I do not want to admit to the world that I can be a bad person. It is just that I don't want anyone to have false expectations. Moviemaking is a harsh, volatile business, and unless you can be ruthless, too, there's a good chance that you are going to disappear off the scene pretty quickly.”

“I don't cause riots, but I do cause confusion. People freeze when they spot me.”

“I have high blood sugars, and Type 2 diabetes is not going to kill me. But I just have to eat right, and exercise, and lose weight, and watch what I eat, and I will be fine for the rest of my life.”

“I have to keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise and you never know what the tide will bring us.”

“I love what I do for a living, it's the greatest job in the world, but you have to survive an awful lot of attention that you don't truly deserve and you have to live up to your professional responsibilities and I'm always trying to balance that with what is really important.”

“I think 80 percent of the population are really great, caring people who will help you and tell you the truth. That's just the way it is. And I think 20 percent of the population are crooks and liars. It's just a fact.”

“I think it's better to feel good than to look good.”

“I understand the concept of optimism. But I think with me what you get is a lack of cynicism.”

“I went to college because I didn't have anywhere else to go and it was a fabulous hang. And while I was there I was exposed to this world that I didn't know was possible.”

“I will entertain anything; it doesn't matter. You know, it's not obviously about the price, it's not about who, it's kind of about when and what. It's material, that's all.”

“I'm glad I didn't have to fight in any war. I'm glad I didn't have to pick up a gun. I'm glad I didn't get killed or kill somebody. I hope my kids enjoy the same lack of manhood.”

“I'm not apolitical – I'm very specific in my politics. But a lot of the time it's nobody's business unless you're over at my house having dinner.”

“I've made over 20 movies, and 5 of them are good.”

“If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great!”