A few months ago, some friends of mine pointed something out about America’s Everyman, Tom Hanks, that caused the synapses in my brain to dramatically rearrange, and my life has never been the same since.

What they pointed out is that he’s actually a total jerk. Just a total charmless sack of arrogance.

I know what you’re thinking. How could America’s Dad be a jerk? (Then again, if it were true, it would kind of explain a lot about America right now, right?)

This is where I need to make a distinction — and it’s why what I’m saying isn’t libel. I’m not talking about Tom Hanks the human being. I don’t know Tom Hanks as a person, and judging from his talent as a performer, he’s probably mostly a pretty cool person.

What I’m talking about is Tom Hanks the public persona. Tom Hanks the character, whose feet we all sit at and adore, is not charming at all, and is the very definition of human hubris.

This weekend is an appropriate time to bring this up (and I’ll back it up in a minute — let’s just marinate in the juices of this accusation together first), because Tom Hanks’ latest movie, “The Circle,” has arrived in theaters after not being shown in advance to critics (I didn’t say I’m not petty and entitled, just that Public Tom Hanks is).

In a nutshell: Tom Hanks plays jerks really appealingly, but he almost always struggles to be appealing in any other context. Which means when he is cast as a nice guy, it’s a bad idea, and when he is cast as an overweening jerkface, he thrives.

Let’s take a look at some of Tom Hanks’ best performances to see how well this theory stacks up:

“Toy Story”: In the “Toy Story” movies, Woody is a jealous boss who uses people to his own advantage. He literally knocks someone out a window in the first movie and nearly abandons his child in the second to chase after eternal admiration and acclaim. Great casting.

“A League of Their Own”: He plays an abusive, vulgar, entitled and wealthy athlete who scoffs at leading a team of women. Excellent.

“Catch Me If You Can”: He plays a self-loving FBI agent who relishes in other people’s misery, including his own partners. Believable.

Now let’s name the movies where Tom Hanks plays a nice guy and is the worst at it: “The Terminal.” “Forrest Gump.” “Saving Mr. Banks.”

There is one exception to this theory, and the character is even more inexplicable than Tom Hanks’ frequent miscasting: David S. Pumpkins.

As the “SNL” one-hit-wonder, Tom Hanks is charming, delightful and a reason for hope in the world. It makes no sense, but that’s what makes it great.

– Derrick Clements