Tom Hanks Peaked Between '92 and '02 (But, Please, Let's Not Hate ‘The Ladykillers')

An April ’16 Tom Hanks career assessment, courtesy of Hollywood-Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells, claims that Hanks’ peak started with 1992’s “A League of Their Own” and ended with 1999’s “Toy Story,” I would disagree with that timeline. The whole article was inspired by a Hanks quote from a Tribeca Film Festival discussion with John Oliver where he claimed “I peaked in the ’90s.”

Hanks actually had an incredible streak of performances and films starting, yes, in 1992 but ending in 2002 NOT 1999. During that time, Hanks was untouchable, he received four Oscar nominations and won the Best Actor statuette twice. If it weren’t for the fact that there was clear Oscar fatigue in regards to Hanks basically owning the Oscars all throughout the ‘90s, he would have probably also gotten nominated for 2001’s “Catch Me If You Can” and 2002’s “Road to Perdition.”

Can any current Hollywood actor really top what Hanks did between 1992 and 2002? “A League of Their Own,” "Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump," "Apollo 13," "Toy Story 1 & 2," "Saving Private Ryan," "The Green Mile," "Cast Away,"  Road To Perdition," and "Catch Me if You Can."

In fact, he hasn't gotten a single nomination since the aforementioned streak. Then again, he wasn’t even rewarded for his stunning work in "Road to Perdition." So Post-2002, Hanks continued on, at a slower rate mind you, but he nevertheless persisted — the next 11 years or so were a little tougher on him, with plenty of duds ("Cloud Atlas," "The Terminal," "The Da Vinci Code," "Angels and Demons," "Larry Crowne," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.") Although, I still maintain my passionate defense for the Coens’ "The Ladykillers," in which Hanks was in peak over-the-top form. Love that performance and I’m sure he had a blast making that movie. Oh, and "Charlie Wilson's War" is pure aces. Mike Nichols' last film as well.

Lately Hanks has been more careful in the projects he’s chosen, "Sully," "Captain Phillips," "Bridge of Spies" and “The Post" are all commendable, but can’t hold a candle to the ‘90s early aughts streak. Up next is Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” where Hanks will play Fred Rogers.