NEWSTom Hanks Makes Rare Festival Appearance While Cheering on Troubled Son Chet's Stagecoach Performance: Watch
Chet Hanks performed at Stagecoach as his father, Tom, sang along from the audience.
April 27 2026, Published 11:36 a.m. ET
Tom Hanks is his son Chet’s biggest fan.
The 69-year-old cheered on the musician, 35, as his band, Something Out West, performed in the Toyota Music Den at the 2026 Stagecoach Festival on Saturday, April 25.
Tom rocked out from the crowd, mouthing the words to “You Better Run,” a nod to his movie Forrest Gump. The 2025 music video features a cameo from the actor as he witnesses his son wearing an outfit akin to his movie character.
Tom Hanks cheered on his son Chet's performance.
During Saturday’s event, the movie star flew under the radar in casual attire, donning jeans, a gray jacket and a fedora.
A fan, Keren Ashri, who captured a video of Tom in the crowd, was shocked to see the celeb in attendance.
“I noticed him and freaked out honestly,” she told People. “I couldn’t believe he was standing right there next to me! He was enjoying watching his son.”
Keren recalled the Elvis alum being “very kind” to her.
“A few more members in the crowd noticed him after the show was over, and he was very gracious to take a few pictures with the fans,” she added.
Tom Hanks got in the spirit of Stagecoach with a wide-brimmed hat.
Chet previously admitted how difficult it was growing up in the spotlight.
“I’ll tell you something about my childhood. People think that being Tom Hanks’ son, like, I would grow up feeling like I was the s---,” Chet said on MTV’s Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets. “I actually grew up feeling completely f------ worthless.”
He added, “People treated me like, ‘You must think you’re better than me,’ when I didn’t. I just wanted to be friends with everybody and be treated like everybody else. But what am I supposed to do? Walk through the doors and be all meek and timid? That was a mind f--- for me to deal with.”
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Tom Hanks made an unexpected appearance at Stagecoach.
The young star fought an internal “battle” to come into his own with confidence, leading to substance abuse issues.
“If you do walk in through the door and you’re like, ‘Here I am mother f-----,’ then it’s like, ‘Oh, look at you arrogant son of a b----.’ I did internalize all that negativity. Maybe I am f------ worthless, you know what I’m saying?” he explained, noting it was difficult “mentally and emotionally just to be able to walk outside, look someone in the eye and say, ‘What’s up? I’m Chet.’”
Chet Hanks Fell Off His Sobriety Journey in 2021
Chet Hanks previously struggled with substance abuse.
The son of Tom and Rita Wilson made headlines in 2021 after he abandoned his sobriety journey and was slapped with an abuse lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend Kiana Parker.
"He's been – he's still to this day, I don't care what anyone says, I know him – he's fighting a lot of childhood demons. A lot," Kiana told RadarOnline.com at the time. "That's the main problem with him is his parents. It's not perfect like the world thinks. So he's dealing with that and was dealing with trying to stay sober with no drinking, but he's back doing that."
Chet Hanks Is Currently Sober
Chet Hanks is the son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.
In August 2024, the 35-year-old celebrated two years of sobriety.
“Two years ago today, I was coming off a three-day coke binge where I didn’t eat, sleep or barely drink any water for three days straight,” he recalled in an episode of The Surreal Life. “When I got to Vegas, I weighed 190 lbs. At the end of it, I weighed 163. I lost 27 lbs in three days, so my disease is gnarly. It’s not pretty. I went straight from Vegas, checked myself into rehab… again.”
“Here I am, 31 years old, broke, strung out, sucked up, just skinny, just at rock bottom,” he continued. “I just knew, man, if I don’t change my life in a drastic way, either I’m not even going to be around or something bad, so bad, is going to happen that my life might as well be over.”
