Tom Hanks says he's got a 'bizarre body, a big ass, and fat thighs.'

Fans point to the fact that he has also earned more than $200 million in the past decade. Describing the way he looks, he says he has a 'goofy-looking nose, ears that hang down, eyes that look like I'm part Chinese and are a funny colour.'

Critics talk about the two back-to-back Oscars he won, for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump.

He says he has really small hands and feet, funny hair, and a gut that needs watching. Yet, rumours of an astonishing possibility abound.

Rumours that Hanks may one day run for president of the United States.

The idea of him being president is an interesting one.

The actor was recently at the Venice Film Festival promoting The Terminal, a film directed by Steven Spielberg, where he plays an Eastern European stranded in an international transit lounge without a passport. In an interview to journalist Emily Bearn, Hanks, 48, spoke about finally being reconciled to the idea of being a movie star.

'I guess there's no denying that,' he said. 'Why? I don't know. There are actors who are very imposing, I don't think I'm that. There are ones who are threatening, I don't think I'm that. There are some who are mysterious, and I don't think I'm that. Maybe I'm just familiar, maybe I'm just a survivor, but I like to assume that I'm also surprising somewhere along the way.'

Maybe he does have a few surprises he plans to spring on the rest of us.

Photograph: Getty Images