Which actor played Forrest Gump in the movie of the same name?

Tom Hanks played Forrest Gump in the 1994 film, a role for which he won his second consecutive Oscar for Best Actor (after 'Philadelphia'). John Travolta turned down the role, a decision he would later regret. To prepare, Hanks studied videos of actor Michael Conner Humphreys, who played Forrest as a child, to imitate his accent.