Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson,have become Greek Citizens.They showed off their brand new Greek passports,as they posed with the Prime Minister of Greece,Kyriakos Mitsotakis.The couple and their children became honorary Greek citizens last year.
So why did they become Greek citizens you may ask?They were conferred with honorary citizenship of the country,after officials highlighted Hanks' role in helping raise awareness about the 2018 fires
that devastated areas near Athens and claimed the lives of more than 100 people.
"Tom Hanks is a person who showed real interest in the people who suffered from the fire in Mati and promoted this issue in the global media," Greek Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos told CNN in a statement in December.
His wife,actress Rita Wilson, is also part Greek, and Hanks, a Greek Orthodox convert.They have often been spotted spending their vacations in Greece, where they also own property on the island of Antiparos.
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Tom and Rita have produced several films based on the Greek community and never shy away from sharing their admiration for the country and its people.
"I've been Hellenic now for the better part of 32 years," Hanks told reporters at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. "Greece is a haven... I've been around the world, I've been to the most beautiful places in the world, none of them tops Greece."
"The land, the sky, the water, it's good for the soul, it's a healing place," Hanks said.