3 5
Age 48

HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON

Age 41

#18

Rank

#1

#4

Peak Rank

#1

18

Years Ranked

17

9

Years in Top 10

7

10.4

Average Rank

14.6

19

Theatrical Releases

23

Tootsie $177.2 Million

Biggest Hit

Forrest Gump $329.7 Million

$495.1 Million

Career Domestic
Box Office

$1.6 Billion

COMMUNITY VOTE

Who had the greater Hollywood career overall?

Cast your vote and compare your opinion with the community.

Community voting reflects visitor opinion and is independent of the Hollywood Rankings methodology.

CAREER RANKING HISTORY

Jessica Lange Tom Hanks

Jessica Lange

19 theatrical releases • $495.1 Million Domestic

Year Movie Domestic Box Office Domestic BO
1997 A Thousand Acres $7.9 Million
1995 Rob Roy $31.6 Million
1995 Losing Isaiah $7.6 Million
1994 Blue Sky $3.4 Million
1992 Night and the City $6.2 Million

Tom Hanks

23 theatrical releases • $1.6 Billion Domestic

Year Movie Domestic Box Office Domestic BO
1996 That Thing You Do! $25.9 Million
1995 Toy Story $191.8 Million
1995 Apollo 13 $172.1 Million
1994 Forrest Gump $329.7 Million
1993 Sleepless in Seattle $126.7 Million
Career Comparison Summary AI-generated historical comparison. Click to expand.

Note: Films released during the selected year influence the following year's rankings.

Looking at the Hollywood Rankings in 1997, this matchup highlights how differently two careers can score within the same historical snapshot. Selected-year rank is the clearest ranking-side separator, with Tom Hanks holding the stronger position in this snapshot.

Commercial scale is another meaningful divider, with the career domestic box office measure giving Tom Hanks the larger theatrical footprint. Based on the available ranking data, the balance leans toward Tom Hanks without turning the result into a subjective judgment of acting quality.