Tom Hanks is one of the few well-known actors who has stood the test of time and remained unwaveringly at the top of Hollywood.
Nobody has anything negative to say about “Mr Nice Guy,” a favorite in Hollywood. On the screen, he is a legend. Off-screen, he seems to be the kindest man in Hollywood and a true gentleman.
However, did you realize that Tom has long suffered a “silent” illness?
It can be tough to realize that Tom Hank, who played Forrest Gump, is only 66 years old given how long it seems like he has been alive.
The two-time Academy Award winner is known for being a wonderful actor and a good person in general who has never let success or fortune get to him.
In addition to being a cultural icon, Hanks is known as “America’s Dad” and is frequently depicted being kind to his fans and other people he meets outside of the entertainment industry.
If we take a closer look at Tom Hanks’ childhood and upbringing, it becomes clear why he has maintained both feet on the ground while doing an excellent job and having millions of dollars in his bank account.
Born in Concord, California, Tom Hanks did not exactly have a pleasant childhood. Growing up, he had to move about a lot because he was the child of divorce; Tom himself described his background as nomadic.
Tom was regularly ignored, and it appears that no one offered him guidance on how to brush his teeth.
Tom added, “Maybe there was a degree of loneliness because really no one — I kind of like went between the gaps and didn’t really have people who were taking care of me,” in an interview with Graham Bensinger.
By the time Tom was eleven, he had lived in ten different houses. Due to the multiple relationships and “three or four” remarriages of both of his parents, Tom was surrounded by stepbrothers and sisters who came and went.
He has claimed that if he saw some of them today, he wouldn’t recognize them.
“Our younger brother and three older children moved in with our mother and father when our parents divorced. After that, we were herded back and forth.”
“I can remember times when we lived in a big, dispersed house at one point and shared a bedroom at another. Sometimes it was years before we spoke to each other again,” Tom remarked.
Tom discovered that using humor helped him get over his difficult upbringing. He used it to get accepted each time he enrolled in a new school.
“I was excruciatingly painfully shy. I was also the one who simultaneously yelled out funny subtitles during comic strip movies. However, I stayed out of trouble. I was always a really good kid and quite responsible,” Tom claimed.
Tom was cast in He Knows You’re Alone, a low-budget “hack and slash” movie that was entirely shot on Staten Island when he first moved to New York in 1979.
Although the film received mostly negative reviews, it was a financial success and gave Tom, who was 24 at the time, many opportunities.
While many would claim that Tom’s big break came with the Ron Howard-directed fantasy romantic comedy Splash, he first caught the attention of Hollywood and critics when he starred in the 1980 sitcom Bosom Buddies.
He then went on to star in Turner and Hooch and Sleepless in Seattle before winning back-to-back Oscars and Golden Globes for his leading performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump in 1994 and 1995.
When Tom initially began acting, he was married to American actress Samantha Lewes. Their family expanded swiftly after Tom Hanks and Samantha were married when he was only 21.
Tom and Samantha were initially deeply in love and shared many interests because Samantha had recently gone through a divorce. According to Tom, his wife “had stories about having parents with stories about marriages, divorce, and all that can even beat mine.”
After nine years of marriage, Tom and Samantha decided to divorce. The couple’s choice to file for divorce was particularly challenging because of their challenging upbringings.
Tom underwent a particularly difficult period and sought counseling three times a week to combat his pessimistic thoughts. In retrospect, he has described his divorce as “a profoundly difficult event fraught with emotion and negative thoughts.”
Tom felt like a bad parent, but after meeting Rita Wilson—who would later become his wife—he started to feel differently.
“We committed to one another by being married, and we adore and work hard to maintain our connection.”
“Not only do we love each other, but we also genuinely like one another, like being with one another, providing support for one another, and keeping lines of communication open. This is always important.”
One of the most trying times in their relationship came in 2015 when Wilson was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, the doctors discovered it quickly enough for her to obtain treatment. Undoubtedly, Tom Hanks was by her side at all times.
Sadly, Tom’s family had previously experienced cancer. His ex-wife Samantha lost her battle with bone cancer and died at the young age of 50.
Tom doesn’t have cancer, but he does have another condition that has bothered him for a long time.
Additionally, it’s challenging to diagnose because the illness isn’t immediately obvious.
Tom’s job has been affected by the “silent” illness, and he has had to turn down some possibilities because they would have required considerable physical changes or the use of specific foods.
The well-known Hollywood figure first displayed symptoms of the condition in the early 1990s, although he wasn’t aware of its nature at the time.
After tests and testing, the doctors eventually gave Tom a response. And in 2013, Tom opened up about receiving a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
During an interview on The Late Show with David Letterman, the 66-year-old actor disclosed that he had diabetes mellitus, a condition in which the body does not produce enough insulin or respond to it as it should, resulting in excessively high blood sugar levels.
It can have disastrous and even fatal consequences if your lifestyle and habits are not modified to accommodate your type 2 diabetes.
About 37 million Americans, or one in ten, have diabetes; 90 to 95 percent of those who do have type 2 diabetes. Tom, though, asserts that he was shocked to learn of his diagnosis.
The Toy Star actor asserts that his lifestyle and a history of diabetes in his family are the main contributors to his illness. Due to his DNA, eating anything he wanted wasn’t exactly best for him.
“I’m a member of the American generation that has been blindly dancing through the party and now finds itself with a disease,” Tom continued.
“I was very heavy. You are familiar with my appearance because you have seen me in movies. I was an absolute idiot.”
In order to put the illness into remission, doctors advised the adored actor to keep the weight from his adolescence and thin down. The medical community was optimistic, but Tom wasn’t so sure.
“I’m going to have type 2 diabetes,” he chuckled, “because there is no way I can weigh what I did in high school.”
Tom’s fans always remarked on how great he looked and how skinny he was. He clearly has dropped some weight, in my opinion!
The 66-year-old appears to work very hard to maintain his weight and also exercises to help control his blood sugar levels.
“I try to get one hour of exercise every day.”
“That can be anything from running on the treadmill to taking my dog for a walk or a hike, but it has to be for an hour every single day.”
If type 2 diabetes is not treated, it can result in major health problems such heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. We therefore have high hopes that Tom Hanks would be able to change his way of life.
Please let others know about this post in order to recognize a genuine Hollywood celebrity who has managed to remain humble despite his great success.
Best wishes, Mr. Tom Hanks!
