Tom Hanks, the 69-year-old Hollywood legend, has always been a supportive father to his son Chet. The actor was recently spotted at the 2026 Stagecoach Festival, cheering on his son as he performed with his band, Something Out West, at the Toyota Music Den. The event took place on Saturday, April 25, and Tom was seen rocking out from the crowd, mouthing the words to “You Better Run,” a song that pays homage to his iconic role in Forrest Gump. Interestingly, the 2025 music video for this track features Tom in a cameo, where he watches his son wearing an outfit reminiscent of his movie character.
Despite being one of the most famous actors in the world, Tom kept a low profile during the event, opting for casual attire including jeans, a gray jacket, and a fedora. A fan named Keren Ashri captured a video of Tom in the crowd, which she later shared online. She described her experience as surreal, saying, “I noticed him and freaked out honestly.” Keren added, “I couldn’t believe he was standing right there next to me! He was enjoying watching his son.” She also recalled how kind Tom was to her, noting that after the show ended, more people in the crowd recognized him. “He was very gracious to take a few pictures with the fans,” she said.
Chet, who is now 35, has spoken openly about the challenges of growing up in the spotlight. In an interview on MTV’s Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets, he admitted that it was difficult to feel like he belonged. “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—,” he said. “I actually grew up feeling completely f—— worthless.” Chet explained that people often treated him with suspicion, assuming he thought he was better than others. “I just wanted to be friends with everybody and be treated like everybody else,” he said. “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.”
The pressure of living under his father’s shadow led Chet to struggle with self-confidence and eventually turned to substance abuse. “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,” he said. “Maybe I am f—— worthless, you know what I’m saying?” Chet also revealed how hard it was for him to simply go outside and interact with people. “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.’”
In 2021, Chet faced a major setback when he abandoned his sobriety journey and was involved in a legal issue with 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. “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.”
However, Chet has since made a comeback. In August 2024, he celebrated two years of sobriety. Reflecting on his past struggles, he shared a raw account of his lowest point. “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 said 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.” Chet described how he checked himself into rehab after hitting rock bottom. “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.”
