MovieChat Forums > Real Genius (1985) Discussion > Tom Hanks uncredited cameo

Tom Hanks uncredited cameo


He is the guy that Mitch bumps into at the Dean's party close to the beginning of the movie. It's funny how you happen upon these hidden gems sometimes.


"Squeal like a pig" - Hillbilly

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I have this movie, and I can asure you that the guy you're talking about is very far from being Tom Hanks. He's just an extra who happens to have the same haircut than Hanks, and that is it.

I would put a cap here to show you all, but I don't know how to do it.

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haircut. that's it.



I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"

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good year.



His name...was Julio Iglesias!

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Nope, it is Tom Hanks. Just did a Google search for "Tom Hanks cameo Real Genius". It brought up several sites that confirm it was him.

Rant over. You can all return to your normal lives.

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Ok, come on.....you really didn't think that was Tom Hanks, did you? lol Seriously, not just the fact that the guy really doesn't look like him, but examine the history of cinema. By the time this film was produced (1985), Tom Hanks had already been in some pretty big movies i.e. Splash & Bachelor Party, so really, why would he be a "cameo" (I use this because a cameo is a big name actor that appears in an unforgetable role for a very short amount of time) in a film like "Real Genius"? I love "Real Genius", but in reality, even if he was in a cameo role for a film like this, don't you think it would be a little bit of a bigger role? Come on, common sense.

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It's realy not that far-fetched if Hanks was buddies with the director, producer, etc. Celebrities often appear randomly in movies without being credited or even speaking lines often as favors to their buddies or just on a whim (and Tom Hanks at that time was the kind of guy to do things on a whim). I just think this looks like Tom Hanks and since nobody has EVIDENCE to the contrary I guess we just need to agree to disagree. Besides, with the huge number of Caltech references and inside jokes in this movie, isn't it possible the filmmakers had other tricks up their sleeves?

"Squeal like a pig" - Hillbilly

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Yeah...it's that far fetched. Sure...a star may do a cameo in a movie as a favor. Or if they are filming another movie on a nearby set. For example, Kevin Bacon's cameo in Planes, Trains and Automboiles.

However, they are not going to appear in the background of a movie.

A cameo...maybe. A background extra? Nope.

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Obviously not Tom Hanks...but by 1985, Tom Hanks career was in a tail spin with huge flops like The Man with One Red Show and Volunteers. (And followed by more flops like The Money Pit, and Dragnet.) It was not until Big that his career was resurrected and even then, he still had quite a few flops before taking what was really just a small role in A League of Their Own.

Beleive it or not, by 1985, people thought that Peter Scolari was the more successful Bosom Buddy.

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"Beleive it or not, by 1985, people thought that Peter Scolari was the more successful Bosom Buddy."

Um, no, not quite. What the hell else has Scolari even done besides Bosom Buddies?

I'm happiest...in the saddle.

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What the hell else has Scolari even done besides Bosom Buddies?

Well there was the 142 epsisodes of Newhart in which he appeared.

~~Bayowolf
There's a difference between being frank... and being dick.

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Yap, Tom Hanks was already too big a star to play an extra. But perhaps his hair had nothing better to do and made a cameo.

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that is 100% NOT Tom hanks, not even CLOSE !



An Idea is the most resilient parasite - Inception

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Tom Hanks has said himself he was in this movie. I've seen many articles about it as well. Neal Israel, the writer for both Real Genius and Bachelor Party, is real-life friends with Tom Hanks. Makes sense to me.

http://www.cinematical.com/2010/06/27/summer-scenes-we-love-real-genius/
http://secureimmaturity.com/?p=3844

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Here's a screenshot of the scene, I think it's him.

http://twitpic.com/2i89m5

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It IS him at the tea party: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/Tom-Hanks/biography/

Here is the last paragraph of the "Early Career" section:

From 1983-84, Hanks made three guest appearances on "Family Ties" as Elyse Keaton's alcoholic brother Ned Donnelly. Hanks also appears for a moment as an uncredited extra in the movie "Real Genius" 1985, when the lead character, Mitch, bumps into him in a crowd.

There are some texts that the article references if you want additional proof (I would start with Tom Hanks: Journey to Stardom by Roy Trakin).

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I noticed Michelle Meyrink did a role on Family Ties in 1984, too. Wonder if she bumped into Hanks and told him about the movie she was making.

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That doesn't look like Tom Hanks to me. The haircut is similar but it isn't him.

I do not have attention deficit disor...Ooh, look at the bunny!

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I've never seen him in person but I first saw him on Bosom Buddies and have been seeing him ever since.

I do not have attention deficit disor...Ooh, look at the bunny!

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Where does it say that Jordan was 15? I thought she was normal college age.

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She was playing a 19-year-old. Her character reveals her age during the pool party in the auditorium scene.

The gross part is not that she's was 23 playing a 15-year-old, the gross part is that she's playing a 19-year-old who schtupps a 15-year-old Mitch.

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And that matters because....why? Many males do that all of the time and people get angry about it. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, and I'll bet that Mitch was wearing protection (or she was on the Pill.)

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exactly, I bet most people didn't notice Tom Crusie with a mustache in the movie Young Guns the first couple times they saw it, and maybe not until they were told he had a 2 second scene in it.

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Looks like Tom Hanks to me.

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Doesn't seem that far fetched. Interestingly enough, Robert Prescott was also in both movies (with identical names no less = Kent/Colt).

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I think that might really be him?

grrr arg h4x0r 7Eh pl4NE7

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Oh this one is a close call. I read this topic yesterday and had to watch the movie last night. It does look a lot like him. At first I thought it could not be him because his cheeks look full. But then he does have a stout in his chin. Here is picture from Tom Hanks around that time:

http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/B3/8F7C6E4F737EC160DD3E74E29B918C.jpg

Here is the picture that a previous person (imdb mark) posted:

http://twitpic.com/2i89m5

I also noticed the man he was standing next to seemed to be about 6'4". Tom Hanks is 6'0" And the "Tom Hanks" character was significantly shorter.

In my conclusion, I think it is Tom Hanks.




"I'm a vehemently anti-nuclear, paranoid mess, harbouring a strange obsession with radioactive sheep."

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http://twitpic.com/2i89m5
That kind of has a Tom hanks look to it, but i really doubt that's him. I'm more inclined to think Tom hanks heard the rumor that he did a cameo in this movie and he just played along for a gag.

However, the other, tall guy with a mustache, THAT guy looks like Bronson Pinchot.



GO SEAHAWKS! WORLD CHAMPIONS!

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he's great in 'larry crowne'.




Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.-Albert Camus🍁

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It's not Tom Hanks, it's David S. Pumpkins!

Any questions?

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Definitely NOT Tom Hanks.

you're wearing fish boots.

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Tom Hanks' cameo is not at the party, it's at the end of the film during the popcorn scene. He is wearing a white polo neck and beige pants and is one of the first to dive into the popcorn.

He appears a few times, but there is one shot in the popcorn where you can see it's definitely him.

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I just watched and I don't think that's him either, he looks a little short and not quite as thin as Tom was back then. Has Tom Hanks actually said himself that he was in the movie?

you're wearing fish boots.

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I agree with you Katerbug. I don't think either scene contains (or can contain? lol) Tom Hanks. He is definitely not in that party scene. I'm not sure why people seem to think he is. It's almost as if they don't have a pause button on their DVD player or whatever they're using. Maybe that dude could pose as a double but it's not like he's a splitting image of Hanks. It's simply not him. In the popcorn scene, it's not as clear but I don't think that's him either. I don't believe Tom Hanks has actually said he was in this movie. I'd chalk it up to a rumor or opinion that people picked up on and decided to write it up as fact.

Never rub another man's rhubarb.

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Sorry but Hanks is NOT in any scene, he is not in the movie period.

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I still think the guy at the party was Tom Hanks. Just saying.

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