10 Films That Got Actors Taken Seriously

While Tom Hanks may be one of the most loved dramatic actors in the world, in the 1980s he was the king of the lighthearted comedy with his accessible cheesy hits Splash, Big and Turner & Hooch dominating the box office.

This non threatening persona built up over a decade made him the perfect candidate for Jonathan Demme's attempt to introduce the first sympathetic mainstream gay character Andrew Beckett to the world. Hanks noted that the casting of him as the lead in Philadelphia meant "you don't have to be threatened by this man's presence because little Tommy Hanks is playing the role!"

Hanks' truthful portrayal of a lawyer wrongfully dismissed for having AIDS marked a wild new career trajectory for the actor who won the Oscar for Best Actor. The following year his portrayal of the titular Forrest Gump saw him combine his previous broader comedy with a sprinkling of his nuanced performance in Philadelphia to win another Oscar and mark the start of a fascinating career.