A Young Tom Hanks Guest-Starred In A Classic Taxi Episode Revealing Jim Ignatowski's Origin

If you remember "Taxi," then you'll definitely remember the wild cast of characters at the Sunshine Cab company. There was Latka (Andy Kaufman), Louie (Danny DeVito), and, of course, the Reverend Jim Ignatowski played by Christopher Lloyd. Reverend Jim is remembered as one of TV's all time greatest buffoons, but for the first four seasons of the show, not much was actually known about Jim. That is, until the episode "The Road Not Taken" gave fans insight into his past. The two-parter also happened to feature an up-and-coming star by the name of Tom Hanks in the first part.

While Reverend Jim spends most of the series puttering around the cab company in a seemingly permanent state of ... let's call it confusion ...  the "Taxi" Season 4 finale reveals that he was once a strait-laced Harvard student. A very different Jim from the one we know walks in on his roommates, including a very stoned Gordon, played by Tom Hanks. Harvard Jim wants nothing to do with the special brownies they're all enjoying, but after some cajoling from his girlfriend, agrees to try just one — which is all it took. While the scene revolves around Jim and his past, there's no denying that Hanks steals the show, making it pretty obvious that he was a star in the making.

Well before Tom Hanks made the leap into movies – racking up two Oscars and a host of other accolades — he spent his early years on television. While the "Taxi" episode certainly helped his visibility, he was already a known commodity in the sitcom world, starring alongside Peter Scolari in "Bosom Buddies." For two seasons, Scolari and Hanks played roommates who were kicked out of their apartment and forced to cross-dress to live the only place they could afford: A women's hotel. Granted, the concept makes it one of many '80s sitcoms that don't hold up today, but it was the break that Hanks needed.

"Taxi" would not be the only time that Hanks made a brief appearance on a popular television series. His first major credit actually came from a one-episode stint on the "Love Boat." After "Taxi," he would go on to appear in one episode of "Happy Days" as Dr. Dwayne Twitchell, and three episodes of "Family Ties" as Uncle Ned, including a very special episode dealing with Ned's alcoholism. Following Hanks' appearances on "Family Ties," he made the leap to the silver screen and never looked back.