Forrest Gump (character) childhood friend Jennifer Curran, who eventually becomes his wife. Tom Hanks portrayed the character in the film and earned an Academy Award for his performance, while Michael Conner Humphreys portrayed Forrest as a child. In 2008, Forrest Gump was named the 20th greatest movie character of all time by "Empire" magazine. Forrest was born near the small town of Greenbow, Alabama, on June 6, 1944. His father was absent during his life, and his mother said he was "on vacation". His mother named Forrest after their ancestor Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Scotch-Irish American and a noted Confederate general in the
Forrest Gump (character) up to Vivian Malone and handed her a book she dropped, saying simply "Ma'am? You dropped your book...ma'am?" before following her and James Hood into school, causing his coaches to watch the incident in disbelief. Forrest later spends time with Jenny in her college dormitory during a rainy day after she had gotten abused by another college boy. At his college graduation in 1967, Forrest was approached by an army recruiter who asked if he'd "...given any thought to his future". Soon after, Forrest would join the United States Army. On the bus going to boot camp, Forrest met Benjamin