5 basic rules for a happy 32-year marriage from Hollywood star Tom Hanks

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When the Hollywood legend, winner of two Oscars and idol of millions of Thomas Hanks they ask what is the main guarantee of his strong and long-term marriage, he always answers with a smile: In our publication there are some more tips from a celebrity: how to create harmonious relationships in the family, and most importantly, preserve them for many years.

The star of world cinema, a talented American actor, screenwriter and director, a successful producer and just a good person - Thomas Jeffrey Hanks, having changed his sixties, as before, regularly appears in films, produces new film projects, writes scripts, voices cartoons and even acts in musical clips. His compatriots sincerely love him, considering him almost a national hero. It's not in vain, he became the favorite actor in the United States five times according to the Harris Poll.

Turning the pages of a biography

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (Tom Jeffrey Hanks) was born in 1956 in the California Concord. My father worked as a chef in a small local restaurant, my mother worked as a medical worker in a clinic. According to family legend, she was a 5-generation relative of President Abraham Lincoln. When Tom was five years old, his parents separated. The three older children, including Thomas, remained with their father, and the one-year-old Jim was taken by his mother. As the actor later recalled, the divorce of his parents was the strongest shock of his childhood.

The father often moved with his children from place to place in search of a better life. This way of life had a very negative effect on them. So, by the age of sixteen, Thomas had to change five schools, which had a very deplorable effect on his academic performance. And besides, due to the lack of constant friends, he grew up to be an uncommunicative, introverted guy.

But the boy had one outlet - the theater. He devoted all his free time to his favorite hobby. At first he attended performances himself, and when he was twelve, he enrolled in a theater studio and began performing in children's productions. Thanks to his innate sense of humor, it was here that he was able to reveal his acting abilities and decide on the choice of his future profession. At the same time, the strict father did not encourage his son's "antics", believing that this would not make money. However, Thomas was determined to become an actor and confidently walked towards his goal.

After receiving secondary education, the future actor began to study dramatic art and stage skills at the University of California. But, soon the enthusiasm gave way to disappointment: the teaching methodology at the university, based on dry theory, seemed to him very old-fashioned and boring. And Tom was more attracted to creative experiments and avant-garde ideas.

Who knows how his future fate would have developed if he had not met Vincent Dowling, the head of the theater festival "Grate lakes", in his first year, who offered him a job. As a student, after lectures and on his weekends, Tom designed the stage for three years, designed costumes, installed light installations, and even directed. And it was an invaluable experience that included all aspects of theatrical life and the foundations of the acting profession.

Of course, after such a practical school, Hanks had no choice but to leave his studies at the university at an opportunity. And such a case soon presented itself: he was invited to a small acting troupe from Cleveland, with which he went on tour across the state.

First marriage

In 1978, Tom started a family by marrying his university classmate Samantha Lewis. A year later, the young couple had a son, Colin, and two more later, little Elizabeth. And Hanks had to think seriously about his daily bread. The family settled in New York, and the young father began to beat the doorsteps of theaters and film studios in search of work. Of course, Samantha was absolutely not satisfied with the material difficulties in which the family was mired, and she regularly threw loud scandals to Thomas.

The problem of lack of money receded a bit when Thomas first appeared on screen in 1980, starring in the movie "He Knows How Lonely You Are" and then in the romantic comedy "Splash." And, in order to at least somehow stay afloat, the actor continued to appear in serials and low-standard films for several more years. His income was barely enough to make ends meet in the family budget. Hanks and Samantha's marriage cracked, although it lasted nine years. And, as the actor himself says, he lived in a family only because of the children, whom he still feels guilty before.

Fateful meeting and career takeoff

Thomas Hanks and Rita Wilson met on the set of Volunteers in 1985, where they played a couple in love. Gradually, a romantic relationship began between the actors, despite the fact that Tom had a wife and two children, and Rita had a fiancé. Their secret romance lasted three years, after which Hanks finally decides to divorce his wife and propose to Wilson. The decision to leave the family was not easy for the actor, but he also could not lose his beloved.

By 1988, the situation had changed dramatically not only in his personal life, but also in his acting career, when the film Big was released, where Hanks masterfully played a boy who was suddenly transformed into an adult man. By the way, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford and Robin Williams applied for this role, but it was for Tom that she became a real gift of fate. His acting skills were awarded the Golden Globe and the first Oscar nomination, and the film fee allowed him to solve all his financial problems. In the same year, he married Rita Wilson, and soon two sons were born in their family - Chester Marlon (1990) and Truman Theodore (1992).

After the overwhelming success of the young actor, directors were bombarded with offers to star in comedy roles. And he starred in this role a lot before he achieved recognition as a dramatic actor. Five more years later, Hanks will receive two Oscars in the Best Actor category for his leading roles in Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994), thus becoming one of only two actors in history. cinema, who have received this award twice in a row. Hanks' life finally came out on a white streak and for this he was primarily grateful to his wife, who both supported and inspired him.

Therefore, giving interviews, and he gives them quite often - Tom Hanks always emphasizes the important aspects, thanks to which he and Rita managed to keep their stellar marriage afloat. Having survived together for three decades and sorrows, and joys, and illnesses and difficult periods in a relationship, he claims that their love from the trials of fate has only become stronger. It seems that many will be interested to know what exactly is the guarantee of love and mutual understanding of this couple.

Tom Hanks' 5 Essential Rules for a Happy Marriage

1. "Do not marry before age 30"

Firstly, Hanks always says that you can't rush to your first marriage, and even more so early to have children. The actor believes that a real marriage should be a deliberate decision, not an impulsive impulse. After all, when you are too young, there is neither stability, nor a material base, nor that measure of responsibility for a family that comes with age.

2. "Make concessions even in the most fundamental cases"

Thomas was Catholic, and Rita was Greek by birth and Orthodox by faith. The feelings of the young Hanks for his beloved were so great that he changed his Catholic faith in order to play with his chosen one in 1988 a “big Greek wedding” according to all Orthodox traditions. - says the actor, emphasizing the importance of the woman, for which he was ready to sacrifice a lot.

And what is curious, faith for an actor is not an empty phrase. For over 30 years, Hanks has been not only an Orthodox Christian, but also a parishioner and trustee of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. says the actor, -

3. "Support each other"

For all the years of married life, Tom and Rita have not experienced anything together. At the same time, they have always sincerely supported and worried about each other. And when in 1993 the actor was awarded his first Oscar for the film Philadelphia, he thanked Rita for everything from the stage: Rita supported her husband and, when in 2013 the actor was diagnosed with diabetes.

And in 2015, trouble really burst into their family idyll. Rita was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was not so scared by the diagnosis itself as the possible reaction of her husband to this news and how the disease would affect their relationship. But, the fears were in vain: Thomas surrounded his wife with such tender care and support, which brought them closer together. The woman underwent surgery to remove two mammary glands - double mastectomy. An incredible will to live helped 58-year-old Rita to get out of the clutches of death. And, of course, she is immensely grateful to her husband, who worships her and holds her hand tightly, not letting her fall. In turn, the actor states:

And in the spring of this year, Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, contracted the coronavirus. They, while in Australia, decided to take a test after feeling unwell and the test results were positive. They survived a terrible illness together and are now healthy.

4. "Please each other with pleasant little things"

The spouses always travel a lot together, having traveled almost the whole world. Rita tries not to leave Hanks even when he has to leave for other cities to shoot. But, wherever they are, they always try to make small pleasant surprises for each other., - shares the details of his married life, Mr. Hanks.

5. “Accept each other as you are”

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson appreciate all the pleasant things that life gives them and steadfastly together go through all the hardships and misfortunes that make their love stronger. Hanks always speaks of his wife with gratitude and awe:. And almost always, Mr. Hanks emphasizes that you only need to marry the right woman.

P. S. Thomas Hanks heirs

The star, speaking about his children, always notes that the elders grew up at a time when he was still an unknown and poor actor. The younger ones were born when he had already received world recognition, so their childhood was radically different from the older ones. He also says that he loves them all equally.

Of Hanks' four children, only Colin, a son from his first marriage, followed in his father's footsteps. Although he acts in films, he is not very successful. Despite the fact that the guy looks like a copy of his father, he is not invited to serious projects. Hanks Sr. is against "blat" in the cinema, therefore he does not promote it and the eldest son shares his opinion. The actor's daughter Elizabeth leads the life of the average American woman. She has a linguistic education and works as an editor for a popular magazine.

Chet and Truman grew up in a Hollywood mansion, wealthy and prosperous. They traveled with their stellar parents to the best corners of the planet, they were not denied anything, which, however, did not affect their characters in the best way. The eldest of the sons, Chester, who considers himself a black sheep in his exemplary family, at a young age tried himself in acting, but preferred rap music. And at the age of 16, a young man with a violent character suffered from drug addiction, which became a real test for his parents. He often found himself in the center of scandalous stories and repeatedly underwent rehabilitation from drug addiction.

Parents supported their son during his fight against addiction, and the appearance of his daughter Mikaya in April 2016 changed his life. The baby was given birth by Tiffany Miles - Chet's black girl. Now he has radically changed for the better, which makes his parents very happy. The young man says that he loves them very much and is grateful for their patience and understanding.

In 2015, Tom Hanks starred in his wife's music video.

- more than 30 years ago, Rita Wilson once asked her future spouse. - then the actor replied. Indeed, it is a great happiness for a woman to be as important and necessary for a man as air.

However, like many families, our heroes had to overcome crises in relationships. How can it be without them … Close friends of the couple commented on it this way: It is about such lucky people, probably, they say: "We lived together and happily, and died on the same day."

But you can read about the famous collection of the actor's typewriters, which was mentioned above, in the publication: Tom Hanks typewriters and other unusual collections of Hollywood stars.