Tom Hanks on success and insecurities

This piece originally aired on Nov. 21, 2014.

Tom Hanks' films have grossed more than $8 billion worldwide. He's won multiple Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmys. Now, another accolade: he's one of five performers named as a 2014 Kennedy Center honoree, reports "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King.

Hanks was born in 1956 in Concord, California. After his parents divorced when he was 4 years old, he spent his childhood moving from one town to another as his mother and father each remarried several times.

He took to acting on the stages of Sacramento and at the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Ohio. But we first came to know Hanks in 1980, on a sitcom about cross-dressing roommates called "Bosom Buddies."

He said after "Bosom Buddies," one thing led to another, which led to another.

"Without a doubt; It was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me," he said.

Hanks' future was in the movies. Soon after his show was canceled, he landed the starring role in "Splash" -- only his second feature film.

He would get an Academy Award nomination for playing a kid in an adult's body in the movie "Big." His first Oscar win came five years later for his role as a dying AIDS patient in the film, "Philadelphia." His second Oscar came a year later, as Hanks played the unforgettable Forrest Gump.

"It was a magic confluence of so many things that it remains a one of a kind circumstance," he said. "I view it as, like, there's a lot of great mountain ranges in this world. And in the Grand Tetons, there's one peak that's more majestic and more difficult and more unique than the others, and that's what Forrest Gump is."

"Apollo 13," "Saving Private Ryan," "Castaway," "Captain Phillips," "Saving Mr. Banks," the list of Hanks' hits is seemingly endless, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable actors.

Among his iconic roles, is the classic Larry Crowne.

"I ride a scooter to this day because of Larry Crowne," Hanks said.

But not all of his films earned critical success. "Larry Crowne," was one of them. Nevertheless, Hanks assured, not every one has to be perfect for him to feel satisfied.

"No, no. Because, look, the understanding has to be that you can be one of the greatest baseball players on the planet Earth, and you're only gonna play in two or three World Series," he said.

And as his character coach Jimmy Dugan points out in "A League of Their Own," "There's no crying in baseball."

Although Hanks projected a charisma void of insecurity during the interview, he said it was all a façade.

"Do you see how charming and witty I am right now? This is purely a self-defense mechanism. This is just in order to get through this somehow, Gayle," Hanks said. "We are fraught with insecurities and moments of self-doubt that can lead into self-loathing. And that's part of the battle."

He recalled how legendary actor Paul Newman shared his feelings.

"We were working on 'Road to Perdition,' and Paul Newman's first day was just a scene, and there was a bunch of people, and he had a little line where he made a toast with a bottle of illegal alcohol," Hanks recalled. "And when it was done Paul said, 'You always feel self-conscious the first time out, don't you?' If Mr. Paul Newman feels that way, well, then maybe I, maybe there is a place for me and everybody else here."

Hanks has been married to actress and singer Rita Wilson for more than 26 years. It's his second marriage. The couple has two children, and Hanks has two others from a previous marriage. It may be in part because of the everyman roles he plays that Hanks has a reputation of being a Hollywood "good guy."

He also has a reputation for "photo-bombing" photos of those who admire and respect him.

"Well, you know, there's a diplomacy involved. And sometimes it's just easier to grab that phone, put it in 'selfie' mode, and snap away, and then keep movin' on," he said "Sometimes that's the fastest way in order to expedite your day."

Despite dabbling in the mobile zeitgeist, Hanks said he curses whoever invented the phone craze.

"There was a period of time when I would curse him, I cuse him, because it never stops, and wherever you go, there it is," he said. "But I kinda like the guy who invented the 'selfie.'"

But for an actor who's known on and off screen as a genuinely good person, there's one question fans might be wondering: When was the last time Tom Hanks was a jerk?

"I don't collect these moments," Hanks said laughing, "I don't celebrate them."

But the Hollywood icon then jokingly encouraged viewers to let "CBS This Morning" know the last time they saw him being "a d---." He even suggested it should be the primary focus of the segment on the show.