An ordinary young boy, and the protagonist of the story. Hero Boy is a person who is unsure of his belief in Christmas and Santa Claus, and his disbelief changes to belief towards the end of the film. In the film, he resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is also the home of the character Billy, who is also referred to as Lonely Boy. He is voiced by Daryl Sabara when Hero Boy is young, and by Tom Hanks when Hero Boy is overvoicing as a grown man. At the end of the film, the 'moral' that the Conductor believes he should live by (the word he punched out on his ticket) is 'Believe', referring to the boy's disbelief in Santa Claus.