Tom Hanks pays tribute to Jim Lovell, the real-life astronaut whose ill-fated moon mission was recounted in the 1995 movieApollo 13. Lovell passed away on June 29, 2025 at the age of 97.
Two-time winner Hanks missed out on a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Lovell, butApollo 13was nominated in nine other categories, including Best Picture (winning in a pair of technical categories).
The bookLost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13by Lovell himself, along with Jeffrey Kluger, served as the basis forApollo 13’s script, with Ron Howard in the director’s chair.Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon starred alongside Hanks, playing the astronauts who accompanied Lovell on a famously disaster-ridden 1970 trip into space.
Lovell’s passing at the age of 97prompted Hanks to post a stirring tribute to the Apollo 13 astronaut, typing his inspiring words on one of his beloved antique typewriters, and posting it on social media (viaTom Hanks/Instagram):
There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy. His many voyages around Earth and on to so-very-close to the moon were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive – and who better than Jim Lovell to make those voyages. On this night of a full Moon, he passes on – to the heavens, to the stars. God speed you, on this next voyage, Jim Lovell.
What This Means For Hanks And Apollo 13
Apollo 13is just one of many projects about 20th Century American history to involve Hanks.The actor also starred in the WW2 filmSaving Private Ryan, while starring in and directing another WW2 movie inGreyhound. Hanks served as a producer on WW2 seriesBand of Brothers,The PacificandMasters of the Air.
Hanks’ explorations of the space age go beyondApollo 13, as he both starred in and produced the miniseriesFrom the Earth to the Moon. From his many history-related projects,it’s obvious Hanks has deep respect for the heroes of America’s past, and that comes out again in his tribute to Lovell.
Apollo 13indeed stirred a lot of emotions in audiences, and Hanks himself was deeply moved by the experience of making the Oscar-winning film, recounting to theReelBlend Podcastthe feelings that overpowered him while hearing the movie’s score being recorded.
I was on the recording stage for Apollo 13, for James Horner’s recording of the “Re-entry into Earth” sequence. And I could only listen to it once. Because you hear the live orchestra, and then you see it playing up on the (screen). I could only hear it once because I burst into tears. It was so powerful and so heavy. Later on, you see how also his theme for the launch was so filled with majesty and hope and gravitas.
Our Take On Hanks’ Many Historical Movie Roles
Hanks hasn’t only done deadly-serious movies about American history. He was hilarious as washed-up ballplayer Jimmy Dugan in the based-on-fact baseball movieA League of Their Own. He also starred in and directed a lighthearted, completely fictionalized take on the 1960s music scene withThat Thing You Do!.
Hanks also doesn’t focus solely on the distant past, having starred in movies about more recent happenings.Captain Phillipscast him as a ship’s captain taken hostage by Somali pirates, whileSullyhad him portray an airline pilotwho became hailed as a hero after successfully ditching a stricken airliner in the Hudson River.
Hanks sometimes seems like Hollywood’s official caretaker of American history. Not only has he received some of his most memorable roles through works of historical fiction, he’s also given back by using his clout to help historical movies and TV shows get made.
Hanks’ Lovell tribute sees him acting in his capacity as a keeper of America’s cultural memory,while sharing personal feelings for the man he portrayed inApollo 13.
