Jim Hanks is the youngest brother of actor Tom Hanks and entomologist Larry Hanks, but they were not raised together. After their parents Amos and Janet Hanks divorced in 1961, Jim went to Red Bluff, California with his mother, while older siblings Tom, Larry, and Sandra remained with their father. After college he lived in Sacramento working as a waiter, and in 1988, moved to Los Angeles. The agent who employed his Actress wife Karen Praxel as a receptionist encouraged him to get into acting. He took acting lessons, and began his career with roles in B-movies and commercial voice-overs.
In 1995, A Current Affair revealed that Tom Hanks had created the mannerisms for the character of Forrest Gump in the film of the same name based on the simpleton mannerisms earlier created by Jim for the role of Jeeter, including Forrest's "now-famous jerky run". His physical resemblance to his brother allowed him to act as body double for him in scenes in Forrest Gump. Owing to his vocal similarity, he often substitutes for his brother in the role of Sheriff Woody in various Toy Story video games and spin-offs.
In the 1998 film adaptation of O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief", Hanks played the role of the mailman who was the town gossip.
Hanks began providing the voice of Geoffrey the Giraffe in the Toys "R" Us commercials in 2001, and is the voice of Rudy from the Red Robin Gourmet Burgers commercials.
In November 2016, he guest-starred in a web series called "Gary CK Needs Work", a parody of the FX show Louie.
