Tom Hanks: 10 Movie Moments That Prove His Greatness

10. "I'm Glad It's You" - Road To Perdition

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Kicking off the list is Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition, where Tom Hanks plays hitman Michael Sullivan working for crime boss John Rooney. Going against his normal typecast, Tom Hanks played the role of Sullivan as a fatherly figure, rather than as a driven, bent-on-revenge gangster. But with fantastic performances by a number of actors, he still managed to stand out from the crowd and prove how compelling an actor he can be. Perhaps the role of Sullivan is one of Hanks' most underrated performances as an actor, but with a healthy back catalogue of films, sometimes one gets pushed under the rug slightly. Road to Perdition has a wealth of moments that show Hanks' skill as an actor, but the most powerful is the one in which he doesn't even speak. Feeding off Paul Newman as John Rooney, Tom Hanks takes centre stage when he confronts the only father figure he's known in order to kill him. Walking up to Rooney in the gloomy evening with rain pelting off the road, he stands there like an executioner awaiting his call. Rooney says, "I'm glad it's you," while Hanks' expression folds into anguish. He aims with his gun and we see the continual torment in his eyes as he tries to rule in favour of the head over the heart. There's a telling flicker in his eyes before he shoots Rooney, and then silence. Briefly looking up at the houses, Sullivan turns away. Hanks pulls us in tightly and holds us there until the bitter end, and that's what makes it one of his greatest on-screen moments.
Contributor
Contributor

With a love for postmodern literature and black and white movies, Colette is a stickler for those artistic films with a weird and wonderful vibe. But she also loves her mainstream cinema and will devour any superhero movie like a comic-book nerd. She currently works as a news editor for a gaming website, specialising in all things Mario, and a film aficionado for What Culture.