The Internet Is Obsessed With the Idea That Tom Hanks Is Leaving the United States — Why?

Sometimes it feels like life began at Tom Hanks, as if he has always been with us on some screen or another. Not many people know this, but he got his start in a 1980 slasher film titled He Knows You're Alone. This was Tom's cinematic debut and as he told SiriusXM in an interview, it's the movie that got him his SAG card. Thankfully it wasn't the last film Tom did as we've been graced with his presence for over four decades and counting.

At some point, Tom was unofficially given the title of America's Dad. It's unclear which piece of work earned him such a delightful nickname but if we had to guess, it was probably A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood where he played the late, great Mister Rogers. It almost doesn't matter how he came by this moniker as it's really more of a feeling he evokes. This is why the idea of Tom Hanks leaving the country is so devastating. Rumor has it, he might. Here's what we know.

Tom and his wife, actor Rita Wilson, have never definitively said they are leaving the country forever but that doesn't mean they don't have options. According to the BBC, the couple officially became residents of Greece in July 2020. They even took a moment to snag pictures with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife, while holding their new passports.

Tom, Rita, and their four children were all granted citizenship after the Forrest Gump actor raised awareness about the "devastating wildfire near Athens in July 2018." More than 100 people were killed when a fire raged through the village of Mati. Rita has Greek ancestry and in 1988 when they wed, Tom converted to the Greek Orthodox Church, per NBC News.

They are certainly no strangers to the country that adopted the couple, after visiting numerous times. Rumor has it they own property on the island of Antiparos. While accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Tom said, "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."

One rumor we can happily debunk is the one about Tom Hanks escaping to Israel because his name was allegedly found in documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Neither of those things is true, reported Reuters. It all began with a Facebook post where a screenshot of Tom was shared showing him celebrating at some sort of event.

A chyron over the image read, "TOM HANKS CONVERTS TO JUDAISM AND FLEES TO ISRAEL FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF THE EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST." In an email to the outlet, Emily Kuhn, vice president of communications for CNN said, "This is a clearly fabricated video that never aired on CNN.” The screenshot came from a video of Tom dancing at a wedding in July 2014 and was shared by Justin Bieber to his Instagram.