Hollywood legend Tom Hanks officially turns 65 today.
He’s been involved in everything from iconic Pixar animated flick Toy Story to harrowing war film Saving Private Ryan, but one of his biggest roles will remain playing Forrest Gump in the 1994 film of the same name.
The movie, based on the 1986 novel of the same name, depicts the life of Forrest – a slow-witted but kindly man from Alabama who ends up accidentally influencing various historical events, including the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.
In celebration of the man himself celebrating his birthday, we take a look at where he and the rest of the cast have ended up – from arrests to a devastating plane crash.
Tom Hanks – Forrest Gump
Though Forrest Gump was far from his first role – as Tom had already acted in everything from Philadelphia to Sleepless in Seattle – it was perhaps one of the movies that cemented his name as a Hollywood legend.
Tom scooped a Best Actor Oscar for his role in Forrest Gump, and has since gone on to produce movies and TV shows of his own – including Mamma Mia! in 2008 and its 2018 sequel and HBO mini-series Band of Brothers.
The actor has even gone from screen to stage, and made his Broadway debut back in 2013 in the play Lucky Guy.
And he’s written a book, based on his love of typewriters, dubbed Uncommon Type, which was published in 2017.
His extensive typewriter collection even inspired Tom to release a mobile phone app which could emulate the experience of writing on one of the vintage machines.
He tied the knot with first wife Samantha Lewes in 1978, before they divorced in 1987, and went on to wed Rita Wilson a year later in 1988.
He has four children – Chet, Colin, Elizabeth and Truman.
But Tom has had his fair share of health struggles, as he and wife Rita Wilson were among the first celebrities to contract Covid-19 in 2020.
He was out in Australia filming for a new Elvis Presley movie when the duo began experiencing symptoms, writing at the time: "Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches.
"Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive."
Luckily, the pair both made speedy recoveries.
Robin Wright – Jenny Curran
Starring as Jenny Curran in Forrest Gump scored actress Robin Wright three award nominations – but it seems that since then, she’s made the decision to move on from acting.
Since starring as Claire Underwood in hit series House of Cards, Robin caught the filming bug and decided she wanted to turn her hand to directing instead.
She was allowed to demonstrate her directing skills on episode 10 of the second series – and loved it.
Speaking to America’s Town & Country magazine, Robin said: "I realised the wisdom of eight million takes: so you can cover your a** in the editing room!
"I’ve been in this business almost 30 years, and I’m such a control freak. You're sitting around knowing how a scene should be blocked or the direction an actor should be given, and biting your tongue.
"So the answer is, yes, I loved being in the driver's seat. I honestly don't want to act anymore."
Since then, Robin has gone on to star in a few projects, including Wonder Woman 1984 in 2020, but she’s also directed feature film Land earlier this year.
In her personal life, Robin’s been married three times – first to late actor Dane Witherspoon, who tragically passed away in 2014, then to Academy Award winner Sean Penn.
Finally, she tied the knot with Clément Giraudet in 2018.
She has two children, Dylan and Hopper.
Sally Field – Mrs Gump
Award-winning actress Sally Field is best known for her roles in projects like Mrs Doubtfire and Steel Magnolias.
She starred as Mrs Gump in the 1994 flick Forrest Gump before going on to have roles in the Spiderman franchise and Legally Blonde 2.
Tragedy struck Sally and her family when they were involved in a devastating plane crash in October 1988.
She and three members of her family were at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado, taking flight in a private plane owned by media mogul Merv Griffin, when it lost power and aborted take-off.
The plane slammed into parked aircraft, though thankfully everyone survived with minor injuries.
At the time, airport operations manager Bill Frome said it was "absolutely a miracle" that nobody was seriously injured.
"The gas was just spurting out of the gas tanks," Sally’s publicist Pat Kingsley commented. "They were covered with gas. They had to get out of the plane and they got out on the wing and had to jump about six feet to the ground."
Sally has also been involved in her fair share of scandal, as she was arrested in 2019 at a climate change protest, after joining fellow star Jane Fonda’s weekly climate protest in Washington – and left in plastic cable tie handcuffs.
Sally is a proud activist for everything from environmental issues to LGBTQIA+ rights and women’s rights.
She has been married – and divorced – twice, first to Steve Craig in 1968 and then to Alan Greisman in 1984 until 1994, and she has three children – Peter, Eli and Samuel.
The star also opened up in her 2018 memoir about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her step-dad until she was aged 14.
In 1952, her mum married stuntman Jock "Jocko" Mahoney, who she wrote would summon Sally into his bedroom alone.
She wrote in her book In Pieces: "I felt both a child, helpless, and not a child. Powerful. This was power. And I owned it. But I wanted to be a child — and yet.
"It would have been so much easier if I’d only felt one thing, if Jocko had been nothing but cruel and frightening. But he wasn’t.
"He could be magical, the Pied Piper with our family as his entranced followers."
Mykelti Williamson – Bubba
Since starring as Bubba in Forrest Gump, Mykelti has gone on to appear in everything from The Purge franchise to Free Willy.
He played Forrest’s best pal while serving in the US Army, and the duo planned to set up a shrimping business before Bubba was killed during the Vietnam war.
He has been married three times, first to Miami Vice star Olivia Brown until 1985, then to Cheryl Chisholm and finally to Sondra Spriggs.
He has three children – Phoenix, Nicole and Maya.
Mykelti has remarked that it was difficult for him to find work after his starring role in Forrest Gump, as casting directors simply didn’t recognise him.
"The industry didn’t realise that I was wearing a lip device and that I was the same guy who had appeared in 11 TV series.
"They thought the director had discovered some weird-looking guy and put him in front of the camera," he remarked.
Haley Joel Osment – Forrest Gump Jr.
Best known for appearing alongside Bruce Willis in iconic horror flick The Sixth Sense, Haley Joel Osment was just five years old when he appeared as the son of Jenny and Forrest in Forrest Gump.
His career as a child actor catapulted him to stardom – he has recently appeared in everything from Amazon series The Boys to The Kominsky Method, helmed by Michael Douglas.
However, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been surrounded by bizarre rumours – in 2015, a rumour circulated on the Internet that the star had actually died.
In 2006, Haley was arrested for a DUI, after he got into a car accident with a .05 percent blood alcohol content while under the legal drinking age of 21.
He broke a rib in the crash and hurt his shoulder, and was charged with the possession of marijuana while driving.
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And in 2018, he made headlines once more for having a “meltdown” at an airport, as reported by TMZ.
The outlet alleged police had to be called after the star missed a flight out of Las Vegas, as he was yelling and swearing in staff’s faces.
Though he initially fled the scene, he returned to the gate an hour later, with one witness claiming Haley insisted he’d “destroy” the gate agent.
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