Tom Hanks is set to portray former United States president Abraham Lincoln in an upcoming biopic, a role that carries a personal connection for the veteran actor.
The 69-year-old will star in Lincoln in the Bardo, an adaptation of George Saunders’ 2017 bestselling novel. According to industry reports, the project will blend live-action filmmaking with stop-motion animation, offering a distinctive cinematic approach to the historical drama.
Beyond taking on the lead role, Hanks will also produce the film under his Playtone banner alongside longtime collaborator Gary Goetzman. The movie will be directed and produced by Duke Johnson, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind Anomalisa.
Hanks shares a distant familial link to Lincoln. Genealogy records indicate that he is related to the 16th president’s mother, Nancy Hanks, making the casting particularly meaningful.
The story focuses on one of the most personal and painful chapters of Lincoln’s life — the death of his 11-year-old son. Through a mix of historical and fictional characters, both living and deceased, the narrative explores themes of grief, compassion and the resilience of the human spirit.
Hanks is no stranger to portraying real-life figures. Over the course of his career, he has played Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks (2013), pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger in Sully (2016), and television icon Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). He also narrated the 2011 docudrama Killing Lincoln, which examined the assassination of the president by John Wilkes Booth.
In a 2021 opinion piece for The New York Times, Hanks described himself as an enthusiastic amateur historian who often engages others in historical discussions. He noted that part of his work involves creating entertainment rooted in historical events.
Among his upcoming projects, Hanks will reprise his voice role as Woody in Toy Story 5, scheduled for release on June 19, and is also attached to a sequel to his 2020 World War II naval drama Greyhound.
