Michael Conner Humphreys (born March 1, 1985) is an American actor best known for playing young Forrest Gump in the 1994 film of the same name, a performance for which he was nominated for a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

Biography

Humphreys was born in the small town of

Independence, Mississippi Independence is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Tate County, Mississippi, United States. The settlement is approximately south of Cockrum and east of Coldwater along Mississippi Highway 305. Although an unincorpora ...

. In 1993, when he was eight years old, he attended an open casting call in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

for "a young

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

with light eyes and a quirky disposition." The casting team, particularly taken by his thick Southern accent, selected Humphreys to play the role of young Forrest Gump in the

movie adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of Winston Groom's 1986 novel. As part of his preparation to play the character as an adult, Tom Hanks worked to emulate Humphreys's speech and mannerisms. Alongside his Forrest Gump costars

Hanna Hall Hanna Rose Hall (born July 9, 1984) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''Forrest Gump'' (1994), and later appeared in Sofia Coppola's ''The Virgin Suicides'' (1999) and Rob Zombie's ''Halloween'' (2007). Early life Hall was bor ...

and

Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the ps ...

, he received a nomination at the 16th Youth in Film Awards, though he was ultimately bested in his category by Matthew McCurley from the movie ''

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

''. Save for high school productions and an uncredited role in the 2003 television adaptation of the

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Ame ...

novel ''

A Painted House ''A Painted House'' is a 2001 novel by American author John Grisham. Inspired by his childhood in Arkansas, it is Grisham's first major work outside the legal thriller genre in which he established himself. Initially published in serial form, ...

'', Humphreys did not pursue a further career in acting. Following high school, Humphreys enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in November 2004. He was stationed in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and, assigned to the 1st Battalion 36th Infantry Regiment, an element of the 1st Armored Division, he completed an 18-month deployment in Anbar Province,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. Following his return to the United States and some time at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, Humphreys completed his service on June 4, 2008. In 2008, he was studying at the

University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama. It is the state's oldest public university. Occupying a campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes ...

. In 2011, he played the role of "Eddie" in the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

film ''Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers.'' Humphreys more recently worked security for Vancouver Transportation System. As of 2020 he was working as an online teacher. He now works for Coca-Cola in northeast Mississippi.

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Michael Conner 1985 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors United States Army personnel of the Iraq War American male child actors Living people Male actors from Mississippi Military personnel from Mississippi United States Army soldiers University of North Alabama alumni