Tom Hanks leaves fans stunned as he braves the subway alongside everyday New Yorkers

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New Yorkers got a big surprise this week when actor Tom Hanks was seen taking the subway.

Even though he’s a famous Oscar winner and 69 years old, the actor showed everyone how humble he is by riding the bus and other public transportation around town.

Passengers were surprised to see the actor – worth an estimated $400 million – standing on the train. He was dressed casually in a khaki jacket, a dark gray sweater, black pants, and an olive-green Yankees cap.

Oh my gosh, seeing Forrest Gump all covered up was… something. He finished off his whole simple style with those clear glasses, but it was the mask that really got to me. It hid so much of his *face* – his sweet, iconic face! It was just… a lot to take in, honestly. I just wanted to see his smile!

Hanks seemed relaxed on his journey, standing near the doors and casually looking around the busy train car just like everyone else.

Some observant fans eventually spotted him, and one even took pictures of the surprise meeting, which quickly spread online.

Despite having a chauffeured car available, the performer, like many celebrities such as Harrison Ford, has recently been spotted taking the subway in Manhattan.

The recent sighting of Tom Hanks follows just months after his daughter, E.A. Hanks, published a revealing memoir where she described a reportedly difficult childhood.

In my work, I often see how family dynamics can really shape a person, and E.A.’s book delves into the challenges faced by Hanks and his mother, Samantha Lewes. It’s a very honest look at their relationship, and sadly, details her courageous fight with cancer, which she ultimately lost in 2002. It’s a touching and revealing story.

Last month, the actor expressed his admiration for his 43-year-old daughter’s openness about a difficult period in her life, adding that he wasn’t surprised by her resilience.

Honestly, I always knew my daughter was special – she’s got this amazing combination of smarts and a real thirst for understanding things. And I was so proud of how open she was about… well, everything. It just confirmed what I already believed about her, you know?

The memoir, published in April, tells the story of her childhood growing up with her famous parents, Tom Hanks and Samantha Lewes.

E.A. lived in Los Angeles with her parents for the first five years of her life. Her parents divorced in 1987.

In her book, she wrote about how her mother unexpectedly moved her and her brother, Colin (who is now 47), from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

I often talk about how impactful childhood moves can be, and a story a friend shared really resonated with me. She described how her mother unexpectedly uprooted her and her brother, Colin (who’s 47 now!), from Los Angeles to Sacramento. It was completely out of the blue, and she still remembers the shock of it all.

She shared that Samantha’s abusive behavior, both emotionally and physically, led her to move back in with her father.

She told People magazine that she was born in Burbank, California, but after her parents divorced, her mother moved her and her older brother to Sacramento. She doesn’t remember much from her childhood in Los Angeles.

After the divorce was finalized, I’d see my dad and stepmother – and later, my younger half brothers – on weekends and during the summer. But for the years between five and fourteen – a time filled with both hardship and affection – I primarily grew up in Sacramento.

I grew up in a beautiful white house with tall columns. We had a pool in the backyard, and my bedroom walls were covered with pictures of horses.

Over time, the backyard became completely covered in dog waste, making it impossible to walk through, and the house constantly smelled of smoke.

Our fridge was usually empty or contained only old, unusable food, and my mother increasingly retreated to her bed, where she read the Bible for hours.

E.A. continued by describing how her mother treated her, explaining that one night, the emotional abuse turned physical. After that, she moved to Los Angeles during seventh grade.

My living situation changed quite a bit. I started living in Los Angeles and only saw my family in Sacramento during weekends and summer breaks.

When I was fourteen, my mother and I took a road trip across the country to Florida. We drove in a large Winnebago that moved along the highway with a slow, swaying motion, almost like a boat at sea.

In her memoir, E.A. wrote that she thinks her mother likely had bipolar disorder, experiencing periods of intense paranoia and false beliefs, though she was never officially diagnosed.

‘My senior year of high school, she called to say she was dying,’ she continued.

Samantha, best known for her appearance in the 1984 film *Mr. Success*, passed away in 2002 at the age of 50 after a battle with bone cancer.

She wrote that she doesn’t have too many memories of her parents – who wed in 1979. 

Tom Hanks first met his future wife, who was four years older than him, while they were both students at California State University in Sacramento, studying theater.

Tom and Samantha’s friendship blossomed into a fast-moving romance. In 1977, they welcomed their son, Colin, before getting married.

In 1978, Tom, then 22 years old and trying to launch his acting career, moved with Samantha and Colin into a Manhattan apartment that was overrun with cockroaches.

Samantha and Tom finally tied the knot the following year and Elizabeth was born in 1982.

Their marriage was already falling apart by that point, as Tom’s acting career started to flourish. He was increasingly busy with roles that took him away from his family for extended periods.

In 1981, while still married to Samantha, Tom shared a screen with Rita in a single episode of his ABC sitcom, *Bosom Buddies*, where he famously played a character in drag.

Tom and Rita rediscovered their connection while filming ‘Volunteers’ in 1985, and they both realized they had strong feelings for each other.

The actor, 68, recalled a moment with Rita where they simply shared a look, and he knew it was something special. Speaking on BBC’s Desert Island Discs in 2016, he said he asked Rita if she felt the same way, and she confirmed it was undeniable.

Oh, it just breaks my heart thinking about it, but Tom and his first wife, Samantha, started growing apart in ’85. They tried to make it work, you know? But sadly, after seven years together, they officially divorced in ’87. It was such a sad time, even though he’s gone on to have so much happiness since then! I still have all the old photos, though…

He married Wilson, who was 68 at the time, in 1988. They were together for 37 years and had two sons: Chet, age 34, and Truman, age 29.

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2025-10-08 00:06