My work is magnified by the fact that the streets of heaven are too crowded with angels we know their names, they number a thousand for each red ribbon we wear here tonight.

-Tom Hanks, accepting his Best Actor Oscar for Philadelphia

TOM HANKS, currently starring in "The Road To Perdition", is one of only two actors in history to win back-to-back Best Actor Academy Awards®, the first in 1994 for his moving portrayal of AIDS-stricken lawyer Andrew Beckett in Jonathan Demmes Philadelphia. The following year, he took home his second consecutive Oscar® for his unforgettable performance in the title role of Robert Zemeckis Forrest Gump. He also won Golden Globe Awards for both films, as well as a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for the latter.

Hanks more recently earned Academy Award®, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his work in Steven Spielbergs Saving Private Ryan, and he last year won a Golden Globe Award and garnered his fifth Oscar® nomination for his role in Cast Away. He had previously won a Golden Globe Award and earned an Oscar® nomination for his portrayal of a little boy in a mans body in Penny Marshalls Big, and received another Golden Globe nomination for his work opposite Meg Ryan in the romantic comedy smash Sleepless in Seattle, directed by Nora Ephron.

In 1998, Hanks, Ryan and Ephron again scored a hit when they reunited for the romantic comedy Youve Got Mail. The following year, Hanks starred in Frank Darabonts acclaimed drama The Green Mile, for which he shared in a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Ensemble.

Hanks work on the big screen has also translated to success on the small screen. Following his critically acclaimed portrayal of astronaut Jim Lovell in Ron Howards Apollo 13, Hanks executive produced and hosted the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. He also directed one segment, and wrote or co-wrote several others, in addition to appearing in one episode. Hanks work on the miniseries earned him Emmy, Golden Globe and Producers Guild Awards for Outstanding Miniseries, as well as an Emmy nomination for Best Director.

His collaboration with Steven Spielberg on the World War II drama Saving Private Ryan led to them teaming to executive produce the widely praised HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, based on the book by Stephen Ambrose. The fact-based miniseries, which follows one group of paratroopers from boot camp to D-Day to the end of World War II, recently won a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries, and brought Hanks another Producers Guild Award.

In 1996, Hanks made his successful feature film writing and directing debut with That Thing You Do, in which he also starred. The films title song received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Song. The actor also lent his voice to the computer animated blockbusters Toy Story and Toy Story 2. His other film credits include starring roles in A League of Their Own, Turner & Hooch, Dragnet, Punchline, Nothing in Common, Volunteers, Bachelor Party and Splash.