1. Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is probably one of the best examples of a comedian making a successful, almost complete transition to drama. The young Hanks kicked off his career playing a cross-dressing adman in the 80's sit-com Bosom Buddies. As you do. He then quickly found success as a comic actor in film. One of his best-known roles is still the fantasy comedy Big (1988) in which he picked up his first Oscar nomination playing a young boy who becomes a grown man overnight. After a few more comedy successes (Punchline (1988), Dragnet (1987)) and a few flops, including The Burbs (1989) and the now cult Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Hanks brushed up his technique and began an epic dramatic winning streak that started with two Oscar wins in a row. The first came for his performance as an AIDS stricken lawyer in Philadelphia (1993) and then as a simple, aphoristic athlete in epic comedy-drama Forest Gump (1994). Hanks has gone on to star in a further six best film Oscar-nominated flicks: Apollo13 (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Green Mile (1999), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011), Captain Phillips (2013) and, of course, Toy Story 3 (2010). It's the Toy Story movies that have given Hanks the opportunity to keep the comic flame alive, albeit safely behind the mask of a wooden cowboy. But it's nice that younger generations may remember him a little bit, too, for his comic talents.
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