Every Time Tom Hanks Played Himself On A TV Show

As one of the most recognizable faces and voices in Hollywood, Tom Hanks has played himself more than a couple of times on TV. Although the "Forrest Gump" and "Toy Story" star is arguably better known for his movies, he has also appeared in notable TV shows over the last four-plus decades. Beyond appearing as himself, Hanks played characters in comedies such as "Family Ties" and "Tales from the Crypt." Hanks has also lent his voice talent to narrating various documentaries, as well as the HBO World War II drama miniseries "The Pacific."

But aside from voicing himself in 2007's "The Simpsons Movie," and having a cameo in 2020's "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," the two-time Oscar winner has only channeled his own personality in TV series. Since Hanks began his professional acting career in 1980, he has portrayed himself in five different shows. The star delivered plenty of humor in these roles, proving exactly why he's universally considered an entertainment legend.

The ABC sitcom "The Naked Truth" featured Tom Hanks in one episode in 1995 — which was the actor's first time playing himself in a TV show. Revolving around a seasoned photojournalist who ends up working for a tabloid, "The Naked Truth" found a way to incorporate Hanks in the second episode of its first season.  

"Bald Star in Hot Oil Fest!" sees a recently divorced Nora (Téa Leoni) interview for a publication, where she stumbles upon Hanks with the fly of his pants open. Clearly embarrassed by Nora's loud declaration of his mishap and flustered by his inability to fix it on his own, Hanks takes part in the episode's biggest laugh-out-loud sequence.

Nora completely obliterates her chances of landing the job when she starts taking photos of Hanks during his predicament and even asks her interviewer to snap a picture of her with the actor. As one of the first of many celebrity guest stars on "The Naked Truth," Hanks was hilarious even without speaking many lines. 

Tom Hanks guest-starred on another ABC sitcom in 2002 when he showed up in "Life with Bonnie" Season 1, Episode 11. In "What If?", it's daytime talk show host Bonnie Malloy's (Bonnie Hunt) 15th wedding anniversary to her husband Mark (Mark Derwin). Amid the celebrations, Bonnie has a dream that she is instead married to Hanks — whom she had previously admitted to fantasizing about. "Tom Hanks is a man's man, a woman's man, he's a husband, a father, he's famous," Bonnie explains in the episode. 

Bonnie dreams of an idealized life with Hanks and their children until the actor repeatedly tells her she needs to wake up. Interestingly, Hanks had previously portrayed Hunt's husband on screen in the 1999 movie "The Green Mile." Thus, their reunion on "Life with Bonnie" three years later has another layer of meaning for viewers accustomed to seeing Hanks on the big screen.

Famous guest stars were a regular occurrence in "30 Rock," and Tom Hanks' episode of the hit NBC comedy show was loved by audiences. The two-part Season 5 episode "100," which aired in 2011, features Hanks as himself as Liz (Tina Fey — whose original "30 Rock" pitch would've led to a very different show) and the "TGS" team prepares for their 100th episode while facing the prospect of cancellation. It seems like everything that could go wrong does go wrong in "100," such as a gas leak causing everyone in the studio to hallucinate, but all of the chaos finally concludes with the 100th "TGS" episode airing.

At the end of the episode's second part, Hanks watches the episode from his home and is disgusted by what he sees. He quickly picks up his phone and calls George Clooney — who isn't heard or shown. Hanks tells Clooney that he has an "actor emergency" and that he needs to take Tracy (Tracy Morgan) off of the A-list. After hanging up, Hanks turns off the TV, continues his knitting, and sings to himself. 

Tom Hanks' most recent occasions of playing himself on TV both came in animated shows, the first of which is the Disney comedy series "Big City Greens" back in 2020. "Cheap Show" — the second half of Season 2, Episode 16 — includes a short voice cameo of Hanks that serves as a fun surprise for viewers. After the Green family members try and fail to entertain themselves at home to save money instead of going to the fair, they eventually resolve to go. Once they get there, they bump into Hanks — who can be heard off-screen greeting the Green family and inviting them on an adventure.

Although it might be disappointing to not see an animated version of Hanks appear in this episode of "Big City Greens," the actor's voice part is a great way to end the episode. It also works well since Hanks' voice is so easily recognizable.

"The Simpsons" recruited Tom Hanks for a single-episode special guest role in 2024, marking the last time he played himself in a TV show. In the Season 36 premiere, "Bart's Birthday," a "Simpsons" animated version of Conan O'Brien hosts a watch party for what is supposed to be the series finale, created by an AI chatbot known as Hack-GPT. Hanks sits in the crowd of people commemorating the episode, and at the end, he stands up to express his disdain for it. O'Brien responds by revealing that it's actually the season premiere and that Hack-GPT is going to make 800 more episodes, only for the machine to explode and send everyone running.

Hanks' role in "The Simpsons" Season 36 as a disgruntled animated rendition of himself was far from the only celebrity cameo in "Bart's Birthday." Additionally guest-starring in the episode alongside Hanks and O'Brien were John Cena, Danny DeVito, Seth Rogen, Amy Sedaris, Joel McHale, and Mark Proksch. "The Simpsons" and "Big City Greens" remain Hanks' only voice self portrayals on TV outside of narrator roles.