NEWSTom Hanks' Son Chet Admits He Grew Up Feeling 'Completely Worthless': 'A Lot to Mentally Process'
Chet Hanks spoke out about his famous father during a new episode of 'Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets.'
July 24 2024, Published 1:51 p.m. ET
Tom Hanks' son Chet Hanks admitted it wasn't easy to follow in the footsteps of his very famous father.
Chet, who is currently starring on MTV's Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets, said it wasn't easy to grow up in the spotlight.
Chet Hanks is on the new season of MTV's 'Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets.'
"My dad's Tom Hanks. Have people brought that up my entire life? Yes. Is it annoying? Nah," he said in the premiere episode.
"Some people are really enamored with my family's fame. Some people are really resentful about it," Chet, whose mom is Rita Wilson, added. "From a young age, being very aware of that, was a lot to mentally process."
Chet Hanks' parents are Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.
Chet, who has been open about his past and how he was into drugs before getting clean, told his castmates that it wasn't easy to constantly be around his father, who is beloved in Hollywood.
"I'll tell you something about my childhood," he shared. "People think that being Tom Hanks' son, like, I would grow up feeling like I was the s---. I actually grew up feeling completely f------- worthless. 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 just be treated normally like everybody else."
Chet Hanks said he felt 'worthless' being Tom Hanks' son.
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"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. 'Cause then if you do walk in through the door and you’re like, ‘Here I am, motherf-----,’ it’s like, ‘Oh look at you, arrogant son of a b----,'" he continued. "So I did internalize all that negativity. I'd be like ‘Wow, maybe I am f---ing worthless,' you know what I’m saying? So it was a battle for me mentally and emotionally, just to be able to walk outside, look someone in the eye, say, ’What's up? I'm Chet.'"
As OK! previously reported, Chet has previously spoken out about how his upbringing took a toll on him.
“My experience was even more complicated because, on top of fame already being toxic, I wasn’t even famous,” he said in a YouTube video. “I was just the son of somebody famous, so I hadn’t even done anything to deserve any sort of recognition and that created a lot of contempt.”
“I didn’t have a strong male role model to tell me that. To tell me, ‘Bro, f--- these people. They are just jealous of you. You have all these things that they want so they are trying to f----- throw their shade at you so you can feel s---- about yourself because they are jealous,’” he added. “I needed to hear that. I didn’t have anyone to tell me that. This is me now telling the younger version of myself what I needed to hear then.”
Chet Hanks has spoken out about his childhood.
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However, he seems to be on good terms with his parents now, as he recently posed with his dad in 2023.
“Gang,” Chet wrote at the time.
