Tom Hanks reveals how
A League of Their Own changed his career. The classic sports film starred Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan, an alcoholic, washed up professional baseball player. In an effort to sell more tickets, he was tasked with coaching one of the first baseball teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball league (AAGPBL). Joining the roster of his team, the Rockford Peaches, were Geena Davis as Dottie Hinson, Lori Petty as Kit Keller, Rosie O’Donnell as Doris, and Madonna as Mae Mordabito. Jon Lovitz played the hilarious league scout Ernie Capadino, Garry Marshall featured as the league founder Walter Harvey, and David Strathairn played Ira Lowenstein, a passionate manager of the league who believed in the organization’s potential.,The sports film proved to be a major hit for the actor and came at the right time in his career. Hanks had significant roles under his belt before the sports role landed at his feet, such as Allen Bauer in
Splash, Rick Gassko in
Bachelor Party, and John Baskin in
Big, the last of which secured him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Playing 
A League of Their Own‘s Jimmy Dugan continued that momentum and gave him one of his most memorable characters, with his ”
There’s no crying in baseball!” line later placing 54th on the AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes list.,Related: A League Of Their Own: True Story Inspiration Explained,However, that movie was even more important for the beloved actor’s career than many viewers might’ve guessed. Hanks recently sat down with
NYT to discuss his illustrious career, which is now into its fifth decade. The actor explains that, although he was one of the biggest stars of the ’90s and remains highly esteemed today, it took a decade of struggle and finding out who he was as an actor to get there. He considers
A League of Their Own as one of the most important films that changed the course of his life, because of how it taught him what to look for in a movie project. Read what Hanks had to say below:,The baseball film proved to be a massive critical- and box-office success, grossing over $132 million worldwide. It also jump-started a run of critically acclaimed Hanks movies that significantly grew his stature in Hollywood, including
Sleepless in Seattle,
Philadelphia,
Forrest Gump, and the astronaut disaster film,
Apollo 13. Before the end of the decade, the actor also added
Saving Private Ryan,
Toy Story 2, and
The Green Mile to his filmography.,A League of Their Own is now considered a sports classic, with many of its scenes and moments immortalized. In 2012, the film was selected to be included in the United States National Film Registry, and a new 
A League of Their Own reboot series based on the original film is slated for release on Amazon in August. It is impossible to know if Hanks’ career would have been the same without the role of Jimmy Dugan, but due to the undeniable talent and determination of the venerable actor, his career trajectory had no direction but up.,Next: Everything We Know About The League Of Their Own Reboot Show,Source: NYT