Which film, based on a true story, starred Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell?

The film based on a true story that starred Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell is Apollo 13. Released in 1995 and directed by Ron Howard, it dramatizes NASA’s 1970 Apollo 13 mission, which was intended to make the third crewed lunar landing.

The real mission changed course after an oxygen-tank explosion crippled the spacecraft, damaging its power and life-support systems. Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise abandoned the planned landing and used the lunar module as a temporary lifeboat while NASA flight controllers devised ways to bring them home safely. The film was adapted from Lost Moon, the 1994 memoir by Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.

Hanks plays Lovell, with Kevin Bacon as Swigert, Bill Paxton as Haise, Gary Sinise as Ken Mattingly, and Ed Harris as flight director Gene Kranz. A common mix-up is treating every famous line in the film as historical dialogue: “Houston, we have a problem” and “Failure is not an option” are strongly associated with Apollo 13, but the movie shaped or popularized both expressions.