'Forrest Gump' Cast: Where Are the Stars of the Film Now?

Life is like a box of chocolates ... or so says Forrest Gump, the beloved Tom Hanks character who won over moviegoers in 1994 with his Southern charm and folksy proverbs passed down from his onscreen mother, Sally Field. Based on the novel by Winston Groom, Forrest Gump hit theaters less than four months after Hanks won an Oscar for his performance in 1993's Philadelphia. In 1995, the Captain Phillips star took home his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gump, becoming only the second actor in history to win the trophy two years a row. The film also took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing and was nominated in seven other categories. "I feel as though I'm standing on magic legs in a special effects process shot that is too unbelievable to imagine and far too costly to make a reality," Hanks said during his acceptance speech. "But here is my mark, and there is where I'm supposed to look. And believe me, the power and the pleasure and the emotion of this moment is a constant the speed of light." Keep scrolling to see what the cast of Forrest Gump has been doing since the movie premiered:

Since Forrest Gump, the actor also known as "America's Dad" has been nominated for six Oscars total. He's starred in several acclaimed films including Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, Charlie Wilson's War and Captain Phillips and has voiced Woody in all four Toy Story movies. In 2022, he played Elvis Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker in the Baz Luhrmann biopic starring Austin Butler as the "Hound Dog" singer. 

Hanks has been married to Rita Wilson since 1988. They share two sons, Chet and Truman. He also shares son Colin Hanks and daughter Elizabeth Hanks with ex-wife Samantha Lewes, whom he divorced in 1987. Elizabeth had a small cameo in Forrest Gump as one of the schoolchildren who refuses to let young Forrest sit next to her on the bus.

Hanks starred in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme in 2025 and is set to reprise his role as Woody in an upcoming fifth Toy Story movie. 

The Golden Globe winner played Jenny, Forrest's childhood friend who eventually became his wife and the mother of his son. She went on to appear in Message in a Bottle, Unbreakable, White Oleander, Moneyball and Wonder Woman. From 2013 to 2018, she starred in the Netflix series House of Cards as the unshakable Claire Underwood. Wright shares two children, daughter Dylan and son Hopper, with her ex-husband Sean Penn. She married businessman Clément Giraudet in 2018 before reportedly filing for divorce in September 2022.

Sinise was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor trophy at the 1995 Oscars for his performance as Lieutenant Dan, who becomes Forrest's friend and business partner after they meet in Vietnam. He starred alongside Hanks again in 1995 in Apollo 13 and in 1999 in The Green Mile. From 2004 to 2013, he led the cast of CSI: NY as Detective Mac Taylor. He has been married to Moira Harris since 1981. They share daughters Sophie and Ella and son McCanna.

The Oscar winner played Forrest's mother, known only as Mrs. Gump in the movie. She later starred in Where the Heart Is and played Peter Parker's Aunt May in the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films. In 2012, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for her portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. The In Pieces author shares two children with her ex-husband Steven Craig, whom she divorced in 1975.

Field signed on to star as Tova in the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Remarkably Bright Creatures, which is based on the 2022 Shelby Van Pelt novel of the same name. 

Williamson starred as Forrest's best friend Bubba, who was killed during the Vietnam War. His later credits include Con Air, Waiting to Exhale, Ali, Fences and The Purge: Election Year, plus TV shows Nashville, Chicago P.D., Hawaii Five-0 and Lethal Weapon. He has been married to Sondra Spriggs since 1997. They share two daughters, Nicole and Maya.

The actor made his film debut in Forrest Gump as Forrest and Jenny's son, also named Forrest. His breakout role came in 1999's The Sixth Sense, in which he famously said, "I see dead people." He went on to star in Pay It Forward, Secondhand Lions and A.I. Intelligence and has continued acting into adulthood. His recent TV credits include The Kominsky Method, The Boys and What We Do in the Shadows.

The New York native had a small but memorable role as Dorothy Harris, the bus driver who drove both Forrest and Forrest Jr. to school. She followed that up with appearances in Men in Black, Striptease and Fever Pitch, as well as TV roles in shows Wayward Pines, Elementary and American Gods. She and her husband, trader Peter Hogan, share three children: Bernadette, Peter and Sinead.