Before he was the guy weeping on a raft for a volleyball or winning back-to-back Oscars, Tom Hanks was just another lanky kid in New York trying not to get cut from a slasher movie. Seriously. Most people think he magically appeared in Splash (1984) and became an overnight sensation. But the real story of Tom Hanks early films is way weirder, filled with cross-dressing sitcoms, a bizarre anti-Dungeons & Dragons propaganda movie, and a debut role where he almost got stabbed in a funhouse.
The Slasher Debut You Probably Missed
His big screen start wasn't some prestige drama. It was a low-budget 1980 horror flick called He Knows You're Alone. He played Elliot. He wasn't the lead; he was basically "Psychology Student #1" who gives a speech about the nature of fear while hanging out at an amusement park.
It's a typical post-Halloween clone. The plot? A killer stalks brides-to-be. Hanks is charming as hell even then, but his character is mostly there to tell the protagonist she's being paranoid. Hilarious, considering there’s a literal murderer on the loose. Rumor has it his performance was so likable that the director decided not to kill him off, which, if true, might be the most "Tom Hanks" thing to ever happen.
Imagine if he’d been the first victim. No Forrest Gump. No Toy Story. Just a bit of trivia in a 1980s gore-fest.
The Sitcom Bridge and the "Satanic Panic"
You can't talk about his early movies without mentioning Bosom Buddies. Yeah, it’s a TV show, but it’s the only reason he got into rooms with people like Ron Howard. He and Peter Scolari played advertising guys who dressed in drag to live in an affordable, all-female hotel. It was silly. It was campy. But the chemistry was undeniable.
While he was doing the sitcom circuit, he starred in a 1982 made-for-TV movie that has become a cult legend for all the wrong reasons: Mazes and Monsters.
This was the height of the "Satanic Panic." The film was based on a Rona Jaffe novel that capitalized on the (mostly debunked) disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III. Hanks plays Robbie, a college student who gets so into a tabletop RPG that he loses his mind and thinks he’s a cleric. He ends up standing on the edge of the World Trade Center, ready to "spellcast" his way into another dimension.
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Honestly? He’s actually good in it. Even in a movie designed to scare parents away from 20-sided dice, you can see the dramatic chops that would eventually lead to Philadelphia.
How Tom Hanks Early Films Redefined the 80s Everyman
Then came 1984. The year everything changed.
The Mermaid and the Bachelor
Ron Howard originally wanted Hanks for a guest spot on Happy Days where he’d play a guy who kicks the Fonz. He did it. Howard liked him. When Splash came around, the studio wanted a "name." They looked at John Travolta, Chevy Chase, and Bill Murray. Everyone said no.
Hanks stepped in as Allen Bauer.
It made $69 million in 1984 dollars. That’s huge. It proved he could carry a movie, but it also pigeonholed him. Suddenly, he was the "wacky comedy guy."
That same year, he did Bachelor Party. If you’ve only seen "America's Dad" Tom Hanks, this movie will give you whiplash. It’s raunchy. It’s loud. There’s a donkey that overdoses on drugs. It’s a relic of a very specific era of comedy, yet Hanks manages to make his character, Rick Gassko, seem like a decent dude you’d actually want to hang out with.
The Rocky Mid-80s "Middling" Era
People forget that between Splash and Big, Hanks had a string of movies that sort of... just happened.
- The Man with One Red Shoe (1985): A spy spoof that didn't quite land.
- Volunteers (1985): He met Rita Wilson here, so it was a win for his personal life, but the movie was a box office "meh."
- The Money Pit (1986): This one actually holds up. The physical comedy—especially the scene where he gets stuck in the floor—is masterclass level.
- Nothing in Common (1986): This was the first hint that he could do real drama. Playing Jackie Gleason’s son, he had to balance the jokes with the reality of an aging, bitter father.
The Big Turning Point
1988 is the definitive line in the sand. Big wasn't just another comedy about a kid in a man's body. It was a performance that required him to actually become a 12-year-old. He didn't just act immature; he had the posture, the wide-eyed wonder, and the frantic energy of a middle-schooler.
It earned him his first Oscar nomination.
At this point, the "early films" era was effectively over. He followed it up with Punchline, where he played a dark, struggling stand-up comedian. It was a total 180 from the piano-dancing Josh Baskin. He was showing the world he wasn't just a sitcom transplant anymore.
If you’re looking to truly understand why he’s a legend, don’t just watch the hits. Go back and find a copy of The 'Burbs or Dragnet.
Actionable Insights for the Hanks Completionist:
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- Watch for the Physicality: In The Money Pit, pay attention to his laugh when the bathtub falls through the floor. It’s a genuine breakdown that feels totally real.
- Spot the Transitions: Watch Nothing in Common right after Bachelor Party. You can see the exact moment he decides he wants to be a "serious" actor.
- Embrace the Weird: Hunt down Mazes and Monsters. It’s a fascinating time capsule of 80s paranoia and a very young Hanks taking a bizarre script way more seriously than he had to.
Basically, his early career was a chaotic mix of horror, high-concept comedy, and drag. He wasn't born a prestige actor. He worked his way through the trenches of 1980s genre cinema until he found a way to make the "Everyman" something extraordinary.