The Role: Michael Sullivan

Why It’s The Best: There are a number of underrated performances in this film, but it is Hanks, who plays against the grain of his established screen persona, who sticks in the mind.

Despite an iffy barely-there 'tache, Hanks convinces as a contract killer and, vitally, a committed father, in a way that a more obviously-cast actor may have failed to do. He's the emotional anchor at the centre of a veritable Venn diagram of father-son relationships, with his scared son and surrogate father on either side.  

Iconic Moment: When Sullivan finally gets revenge on his boss (Paul Newman) who betrayed him and murdered his family. The intense, rain-soaked scene has become even more iconic on account of the fact that it is Paul Newman’s final onscreen appearance.

Tom Says: “The key to this whole thing is the father and son relationships in the various permutations of the fathers and the sons that go on in the movie. I've got a father and I have sons. That alone helped. But there's a whole ocean of emotions to explore here and a million ways to find the universe of what these relationships are going to be,”