Who Is The Tom Hanks Of Our Generation?

Is it just me or is Dan looking oddly sexy in this confused pic? Anyway, the Harry Potter megastar is one of the first candidates that came to mind for a new Tom Hanks. He demonstrates both comedic and dramatic acting chops in the HP series, and has handled his catapult to superstardom with ease and without arrogance. I watched him on The Actor's Studio, and the thing that stuck out most in his mind was that Daniel said something along the lines of, "I am very much aware that everyone would be going crazy over anyone who got the part of Harry, so I just feel grateful it was me." He honestly just seems like a down-to-earth guy. Career wise, he's done various genres, including historical drama (My Boy Jack), horror (The Woman In Black), and musical theater (How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying). Look for Daniel to make more smart choices in his career coming up, as he plays Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, a biopic about 1940s beat poets, a young poet in a 2013 pilot with Jon Hamm and Adam Godley, and Pinocchio.

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Okay yeah, Tom Hanks was never in a High School Musical equivalent, but there is no denying that Zac Efron is a real talent, and has gone a long way to show his range in the past couple of years. First of all, if you haven't seen 17 Again, Zac's actually hilarious in it. Later this year, you'll see Zac in the dramedy Liberal Arts, as well as the Cannes-premiere drama, The Paperboy. We know he can do chick flicks (Hello The Lucky One). And at just 24, Zac looks like he's on his way to being as prolific as Mr. Hanks, with four more films set for release in the next year.

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Like Tom Hanks, Jonah got his start as a funnyman, with projects like 40 Year Old Virgin, Accepted, and Knocked Up. And maybe that's what he does best, but Jonah more than proved he can do drama in Moneyball, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. He'll appear alongside Leo DiCaprio and Samuel Jackson in the Western drama Django Unchained this December, and again with Leo in the Scorcese-directed The Wolf of Wall Street. Jonah will still be exercising his comedic chops with Good Time Gang and the rumored Zoolander 2, but it looks like he enjoyed the taste of the dramatic he got in Moneyball. Not to mention, Jonah seems to be a standout guy.

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I'm just gonna go ahead and be honest, I had no idea who Josh Hutcherson was before The Hunger Games, which means I am shocked to learn just how many acting credits he has at only 19 years old. Though he's done mainly teen flicks so far, Josh has the chops and good guy appeal that puts him in the running. He'll appear in Red Dawn with Chris Hemsworth in November, as well as Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2013. His opportunities are only going to increase as the next two films in the Hunger Games trilogy are released, and we'll just have to wait and see what Josh does with them.

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Wow, who knew Shia got his start doing stand up comedy? This guy has been compared to Tom Hanks in the past, though the string of action films has made him drift a little closer toward the career of the other Tom... Cruise that is. As long as he doesn't go down the Scientology road, I think he can avoid that fire. Shia's done everything from a goofy (but, I think, legitimately funny) kids TV series to crime dramas to epic sports dramas to artsy short films with butterflies and abuse to movies about robots taking over the world. (I'm just going to go ahead and call Transformers 2 and 3 a couple of missteps for the purpose of creating a financial cushion so he could pursue other more artistically valuable projects.) You'll see him in the Western Lawless coming in August, as well as The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, The Company You Keep, and Triple Nine in 2013. Another one who started out in comedy and then proved himself in other arenas, Shia is a definite contender for Tom Hanks of this generation.

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For 31 year old Chris Pine, it's all going to depend on his next couple of roles. And by that I mean, he best not play Christian Steele. Sure, he's appeared in a couple of duds (See Just My Luck and This Means War), but Chris Pine has definitely shown range, particularly in the recent People Like Us. Coming up, he'll lend his voice as Jack Frost in the animated Rise Of The Guardians and will appear in the untitled Star Trek sequel and an untitled Jack Ryan project based on a Tom Clancy novel. Keep an eye on this one.

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Just in case you haven't heard enough about Liam Hemsworth with the engagement madness lately, get ready to be seeing a lot more of him, with seven, count 'em, SEVEN, upcoming film projects: war drama Love and Honor, action film The Expendables 2, NYPD drama Empire State, time travel flick Timeless, thriller Paranoia, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and adventure film Arabian Nights. That diverse enough for ya? Depending on his performances in allll these films, and the potential for a messy breakup with Smiley, we'll see where Liam takes his career.

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Emile Hirsch made his Hollywood debut in 2002's The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, and hasn't been out of work since. He appeared in the critically acclaimed Into the Wild and Milk, but he's also played a lovesick teenager in a comedy with The Girl Next Door. Look for him this year in the drama The Motel Life with Dakota Fanning this year, and next year in the comedy Prince Avalanche with Paul Rudd and the dramedy A Long Way Down. Another similarity between Emilie and Mr. Hanks? Devotion to the environment. Emile participated in Summit on the Summit, an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the world's need for clean water.

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This former Mickey Mouse club member made the move into "serious film" at age 19, and hasn't looked back since. He was nominated for Best Actor for Half Nelson in 2006, and has since appeared in Oscar nominated films Blue Valentine, Drive, and The Ides of March, along with the Golden Globe nominated comedy Crazy Stupid Love. Solid film selection? Check. Good guy appeal? Eh... I'd say half check. Not that he's a bad guy (I know, I've seen the video), but Ryan is quite the ladies man, and his dating history reads like a who's who of female Hollywood royalty: Sandra Bullock, Rachel McAdams, Kat Dennings, Blake Lively, Olivia Wilde, and now Eva Mendes. Clearly the man has just as diverse a taste in women as he does in films. Upcoming for Ryan is Sean Penn crime dramas Gangster Squad andThe Place Beyond The Pines, thriller Only God Forgives, action flick Logan's Run, and a Terrence Malik music drama that is untitled as of yet.

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Billy Elliot, King Kong, Jumper, and The Adventures of Tin Tin. Even if you don't recognize his name right off the bat, you know his work. He was nominated for and won a plethora of awards for Billy Elliot in 2000, and he's acted in some great films ever since. For new releases from Jamie, look for crime dramedy Filth at the end of this year, and thriller Snowpiercer and rom com Fighting Jacob in 2013. I am hoping the recently reunited couple, Jamie and Evan Rachel Wood, eventually get married and stay that way like Rita and Tom.

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Jason's Horrible Bosses co-star Lindsay Sloane actually referred to him as an “early career Tom Hanks,” and the Saturday Night Live star does have the handsome but not threatening good looks and quick wit that Hanks is famous for. Though his resume consists of almost entirely comedies at this point, it looks as if he'll be foraying into drama a little bit with This Is Where I Leave You. Though it seems that Jason will be sticking mostly to his comedic guns — at least for now — he definitely has the potential to go all Tom Hanks up in here.

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