4 Reasons Chris Pratt is Totally the Next Tom Hanks

Star of the summer’s best movie, two great Ice Bucket Challenge videos, a critically-acclaimed sitcom and the best chapter of Movie 43, Chris Pratt has taken Hollywood by storm. Pratt polishes his squeaky clean image with every children’s hospital visit, and seems to be on the fast track to superstardom.

Now it’s just a matter of longevity for Pratt, who has moved from “next big thing” status to simply “big thing”. Besides the fact that the cinematic company they keep bear an uncanny resemblance to one another (see below), here are four reasons Chris Pratt is clearly the next Tom Hanks:

They both got their start on a sitcom

Most of us first saw Tom Hanks as Kip/Buffy Wilson (↑Wilson!) on the 1980 series Bosom Buddies. Billions of box office dollars later, he remains one of the most viable and recognizable American movie stars of all time.

Chris Pratt also got his start on a sitcom, and remains a cast member of the critically-acclaimed Parks and Recreation. Pratt’s Andy Dwyer is one of the funniest and most likable characters on television, and is able to steal scenes despite sharing screen time with Ron Swanson and Tom Haverford.

They both voice iconic animated film characters

With a LEGO Movie sequel on the way, Chris Pratt’s Emmet is ascending into an animated character atmosphere inhabited primarily by Disney princesses and PIXAR workhorses.

One particular PIXAR character that stands above them all is Toy Story’s Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks. Both Pratt and Hanks are brilliant voice actors, and have given life to popular animated characters in a way no one else could have.

They are genuinely likable human beings

For the most part, Tom Hanks has seemed to remain largely unaffected by transcendent superstardom. Not everyone who has reached such a pinnacle has remained as grounded and likable has Hanks has.

I’ve always thought that an actor’s appearances on late night talk shows and Saturday Night Live are the closest we as fans will ever come to experiencing their actual personality, and so far Pratt has come off as genuine and likable has Hanks always has in those settings. His appearances on Conan and other talk shows are always enjoyable, and my guess we won’t be waiting very long for Chris Pratt to be hosting SNL.

They are each comfortable with (and excel at) comic and dramatic acting

Pratt surprised audiences when he quickly shed some of his Andy Dwyer weight and debuted his “jacked” new look for Zero Dark Thirty. Fans knew that he was one of the funnier actors on television, but this dramatic turn established him as a crossover talent. Pratt further demonstrated his dramatic chops in Guardians of the Galaxy, which despite having more funny moments than any Marvel movie to date, was by no means a comedic role for the film’s star.

Tom Hanks post-sitcom film career began with roles you’d expect a comedic television actor to inhabit, such as The ‘Burbs, Joe Versus the Volcano and Turner & Hooch. The “modern era” of Hanks was born when he began flexing his dramatic muscle in films such as Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. Hanks won the Academy Award for Best Actor in his second major dramatic role, and to bet against Pratt accomplishing the feat at some point in his career would be a fool’s game.