Acting is a job — not a character reference. Tom Hanks is an extremely skilled actor who is able to play widely varying characters and make them believable. There is nothing heroic about that.
There are other actors (John Hurt, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis come to mind) who play the same character over and over again, barely changing the expression on their faces. They are not heros either — just less competent.
The actor does not choose the message in his vehicle — movie or play. The message is chosen by the writers and the director.
And yet millions go gaga over these people and treat them as heroes just because they know how to act like someone they're not.
The actor does not choose the message in his vehicle
He chooses to participate in the message. And if he chooses immoral messages he contributes to the degradation of society. Hanks did it in a big way with "Philadelphia".