Life is like a box of chocolates … or so says Forrest Gump, the beloved Tom Hanks character who won over moviegoers in 1994 with his Southern charm and folksy proverbs passed down from his mother (Sally Field).
Based on the novel by Winston Groom, Forrest Gump hit theaters less than four months after Hanks won an Oscar for his performance in 1993’s Philadelphia. In 1995, the Captain Phillips star took home his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gump, becoming only the second actor in history to win the trophy two years a row.
The film also took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing, and was nominated in seven other categories. “I feel as though I’m standing on magic legs in a special effects process shot that is too unbelievable to imagine and far too costly to make a reality,” Hanks said during his acceptance speech. “But here is my mark, and there is where I’m supposed to look. And believe me, the power and the pleasure and the emotion of this moment is a constant the speed of light.”
Forrest Gump told the story of a young man of the same name as he inadvertently witnessed tons of important events in American history while pursuing a career in the army and later as a shrimp boat captain in the Gulf of Mexico. Over the course of the film, Gump meets three presidents, witnesses Watergate, hangs out with the Black Panthers, fights in the Vietnam War, inspires John Lennon to write “Imagine” and teaches Elvis Presley how to dance.
“It was an absolute crapshoot,” Hanks told USA Today of the movie in 2019. “It’s a really crazy, unique motion picture without a doubt. And it’s a movie in which the great moments that resonate are going to change depending on when you’re watching it.”
While Hanks’ performance was one of the film’s highlights, it’s since become known for its many quotable lines: “Stupid is as stupid does” and the like. During a 2015 interview with Graham Norton, the Big star said that “Run Forrest, run!” was one of the most common things fans shouted at him when meeting him on the street until Cast Away premiered in 2000.
“Now they just yell, ‘WILSON!'” he joked. “Evidently ‘Wilson’ is a universal language word [so] they don’t bother dubbing it into any other languages. So it’s in Hindi, it’s in Japanese, Chinese.”
Keep scrolling to see what the cast of Forrest Gump has been doing since the movie premiered:
Since Forrest Gump, the actor also known as "America's Dad" has been nominated for three more Oscars (and no one has repeated his feat of winning two years in a row). He's starred in several acclaimed films including Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, Charlie Wilson's War and Captain Phillips and has voiced Woody in all four Toy Story movies. In 2022, he played Elvis Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker in the Baz Luhrmann biopic starring Austin Butler as the "Hound Dog" singer. Hanks has been married to Rita Wilson since 1988. They share two sons, Chester (a.k.a. Chet Haze) and Truman. He also shares son Colin Hanks and daughter Elizabeth Hanks with ex-wife Samantha Lewes, whom he divorced in 1987. Elizabeth had a small cameo in Forrest Gump as one of the schoolchildren who refuses to let young Forrest sit next to her on the bus. Shutterstock (2)
The Golden Globe winner played Jenny, Forrest's childhood friend who eventually became his wife and the mother of his son. She went on to appear in Message in a Bottle, Unbreakable, White Oleander, Moneyball and Wonder Woman. From 2013 to 2018, she starred in the Netflix series House of Cards as the unshakable Claire Underwood. She has been married to businessman Clément Giraudet since 2018. Wright shares two children, daughter Dylan and son Hopper, with her ex-husband Sean Penn. Shutterstock (2)
Sinise was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor trophy at the 1995 Oscars for his performance as Lieutenant Dan, who becomes Forrest's friend and business partner after they meet in Vietnam. He starred alongside Hanks again in 1995 in Apollo 13 and in 1999 in The Green Mile. From 2004 to 2013, he led the cast of CSI: NY as Detective Mac Taylor. He has been married to Moira Harris since 1981. They share daughters Sophie and Ella and son McCanna. Shutterstock (2)
The Oscar winner played Forrest's mother, known only as Mrs. Gump in the movie. She later starred in Where the Heart Is and played Peter Parker's Aunt May in the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films. In 2012, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for her portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. The In Pieces author shares two children with her ex-husband Steven Craig, whom she divorced in 1975. Shutterstock (2)
Williamson starred as Forrest's best friend Bubba, who was killed during the Vietnam War. His later credits include Con Air, Waiting to Exhale, Ali, Fences and The Purge: Election Year, plus TV shows Nashville, Chicago P.D., Hawaii Five-0 and Lethal Weapon. He has been married to Sondra Spriggs since 1997. They share two daughters, Nicole and Maya. Shutterstock (2)
The actor made his film debut in Forrest Gump as Forrest and Jenny's son, also named Forrest. His breakout role came in 1999's The Sixth Sense, in which he famously said, "I see dead people." He went on to star in Pay It Forward, Secondhand Lions and A.I. Intelligence and has continued acting into adulthood. His recent TV credits include The Kominsky Method, The Boys and What We Do in the Shadows. Shutterstock (2)
The New York native had a small but memorable role as Dorothy Harris, the bus driver who drove both Forrest and Forrest Jr. to school. She followed that up with appearances in Men in Black, Striptease and Fever Pitch, as well as TV roles in shows Wayward Pines, Elementary and American Gods. She and her husband, trader Peter Hogan, share three children: Bernadette, Peter and Sinead. YouTube; Shutterstock
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