When Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced their COVID-19 diagnosis in mid-March, much of the U.S. was on the dawn of a lockdown they weren’t yet aware of. The shocking news served as a wake-up call to many, but nearly a year later, the coronavirus is still very much a crisis that has expanded far past the actors’ experience with it. Without probably wanting to, Hanks and Wilson have become the go-to Hollywood couple to discuss the situation with as it remains in our daily lives.
Tom Hanks has promoted a couple movies this year that have faced polar opposite situations. For summer release Greyhound, the movie was bought by Apple and sent straight to homes of subscribers of AppleTV+. In the case of his upcoming western News of the World, the movie will first hit theaters exclusively before reaching Netflix at some point in the future. While speaking to TODAY about the latter, Hanks took a moment to reflect on getting COVID-19:
We had it, and it was a tough 10 days, but I think that what’s much more important is the second half of the COVID-19 formula is that we didn't give it to anybody.
Tom Hanks is thankful he and his wife were able to come out unscatched from the virus, but even more proud to say that they made sure that they did not spread COVID-19 to anyone else this year. Having it is one thing, but as Hanks discussed, wearing masks and social distancing from others was the most important part of the equation for them when it comes to the deadly pandemic. When Savannah Guthrie asked the actor about his thoughts on the oncoming vaccine, he said this:
We'll be getting it long after everybody who truly needs to get it.
In recent weeks, the Pfizer vaccine has begun to go out to U.S. citizens, namely first responders and medical professionals who are placing themselves at risk to COVID-19 everyday by treating positive cases in overwhelmed hospitals across the nation. Hanks doesn’t sound like he’s in any rush to receive the vaccine due to the fact that there are millions of other people who need it before him and his family.
Hollywood productions have certainly been taking some serious precautions on set since Tom Hanks’ incident. Following the actor testing positive for the virus in Australia while filming Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley movie, he quarantined, recovered and returned home to Los Angeles before stepping back on set in Australia months later to finish the film in September.
Tom Hanks teamed up with director Paul Greengrass for News of the World, a book-to-movie adaptation about a Civil War veteran who agrees to deliver a young girl to her family across the U.S. The movie has been received warmly by critics ahead of its theatrical release on Christmas Day.
