TL;DR - Tom Hanks has oscars, and medals to his name, but combined with his IMDB and personality, he is the greatest actor of all time

Awards

• Oscar for Best Actor in Philadelphia - Tom Hanks approaches this role with grace and understating, just adding to his amazing IMDB as well as cinematic prevalence.
• Oscar For Best Actor in Forrest Gump - Forrest Gump is one of, if not, my favourite movies of all time. This classic film adapts may historical events through the 1950s to 1980s to fit into one man’s life. Tom Hanks plays this role so well, and I think that is why we all remember “life is like a box of chocolates”.
• 7 Emmys and 5 Golden Globe wins - He is recognised throughout many different film associations as a great actor who plays many different parts in many different films. His versatility is something that also makes him stand out, from lonely man on an island in Cast Away to Pilot who settled a plane in the Hudson River in Sully, Tom Hanks really proves his acting abilities time after time.

Filmography

• Saving Private Ryan - (Nominated best actor). Again, Hanks prove this versatility as well as captivation when he plays a soldier fighting in World War One. What Tom Hanks manages to do, that actors often cannot, is act in a way that you forget his other characters. For example, Daniel Radcliffe can act exceptionally, but sometimes you still fell you are watching ‘Harry Potter’ in another movie.
• Big - (Nominated best actor) - Tom Hanks, even at a young age played a great role in the coming of age movie BIG. This is a heart warming movie, mainly due to Hanks’ amazing acting abilities that make you connect to his character.
• Cast Away - (Nominated best actor) - No one can deny that making a feature length film without much dialogue interesting is no easy thing to do, but Hanks achieves this in Cast Away. Only speaking a few times in the 2 hour movie but capturing an amazing story is the reason why I feel Tom Hanks is the best actor of all time.
• Toy Story - He is also not limited to intense movies made to be critically a masterpiece. As a voice actor for Woody in Toy Story, he makes the character his own and is now recognisable with adults and children alike.

Personality

• Dad of Hollywood - Finally there is a feeling that Tom Hanks embodied the position of [Dad of Hollywood] (https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210208-is-tom-hanks-part-of-a-dying-breed-of-genuine-movie-stars). He is part of the last generation to cross over both Boomer to Gen- Z generations.
• Unproblematic - On a final note, he seems to be a really nice and unproblematic actor in real life, which are hard to come by in recent times.

TL;DR - Meryl Streep can play almost any role.

* I have understood the term 'actor' as not being specific to men, hence the argument for Streep.

During her career, Streep has been nominated for 407 awards, winning 177 of those nominations. She holds the record for the most academy award nominations of any actor and has won 3 Oscars. She also has 2 BAFTAs and 9 Golden Globes.

What also sets Streep apart is the variety of roles she played. From hard-hitting films such as Deer Hunter, Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs Kramer to more lighthearted affairs including Mamma Mia and The Devil Wears Prada, The versatility shown in all these roles Streep a box office favourite and also a legend among her peers.

😂 Eugh: I can't bear him. He's the same potato-dumpling in all his films.

Men who are better than Tom Hanks: Dustin Hoffmann, Lawrence Olivier, James Stewart, Stephen Berkoff, Robert de Niro, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Daniel Day Lewis, Peter O'Toole, Gary Oldman, Alec Guinness, Ian McKellen, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine. Honestly, I think Sean Connery has more screen charisma and versatility than Hanks.

As for the women... in the UK alone: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Julie Andrews, Diana Rigg, Audrey Hepburn.

You misspelled Tommy Wiseau.