The 90’s was truly a wonderful period for cinema. It seemed like every year had at least a handful of iconic movies, and one of the most iconic ones was the 1994 movie Forrest Gump. It’s one of those movies that has a lasting impact on you even if you’d watch it today, and it’s such a perfect movie that they haven’t even bothered to remake it.
It’s been almost 30 years since the iconic movie hit theaters, so that seems like as good a time as any to look back at the actors and see what they look like today and what they’re doing.
Robin Wright
While she wasn’t the most known actress when she bagged the role for Jenny but had had a decent career. After Forrest Gump she kind of fell of the map for a while and only resurfaced into the spotlights as Claire Underwood from the brilliant series House of Cards. Even now it’s hard to imagine that Jenny and Claire Underwood are the same actress, since the characters probably couldn’t be more different.
Sally Field
Playing Forrest Gump’s mother was never going to be an easy role, but a star like Sally Field had no difficulty pulling it off. She’s still acting to this day, and was even Aunt May for the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man. She’s also very politically outspoken and often shares her thoughts on Twitter.
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks was at the height of his star power in the 90’s and has developed himself into the most charismatic and sympathetic guy in Hollywood. He’s still very active as an actor, although most younger people will probably know him as Woody from the Toy Story series.
Mykelti Williamson
The man that put a face to the Bubba Blue character has been playing in a lot of series over the years, but you probably didn’t recognize him without his prosthetic lip. He’s had roles in amazing shows like 24 and Boomtown, usually playing a police or military type character.
Michael Conner Humphries
Young Forrest is probably not someone you instantly recognize right now, and that has everything to do with the fact that he quit acting pretty much immediately after the movie. He joined the army and even did an 18-month tour in Iraq, and has very, very occasionally dipped his toes back into acting. He also grew up looking nothing at all like Tom Hanks.
Gary Sinise
After Forrest Gump, Gary moved on to all kinds of projects in Hollywood, but is now mostly starring in shows and supporting the American troops. I guess having to play a PTSD-stricken lieutenant inspires you to help other people in that situation. He’s one of the few openly Republican actors in Hollywood, but did distance himself from the party in the 2016 election. We can only imagine why.
