Tom Hanks is a devoted fan of his son, Chet. The 69-year-old actor was seen cheering on the musician, who is 35, as his band, Something Out West, performed at the Toyota Music Den during the 2026 Stagecoach Festival on April 25. Tom was in the crowd, rocking out and mouthing the words to “You Better Run,” a song that pays homage to his movie Forrest Gump. The 2025 music video features a cameo from the actor, who watches his son wearing an outfit similar to his iconic character.
During the event, Tom remained low-key, dressed in jeans, a gray jacket, and a fedora. A fan named Keren Ashri captured a video of Tom in the crowd and was surprised to see him there. “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 described the Elvis alum as “very kind” and noted that after the show, other fans also recognized him. “He was very gracious to take a few pictures with the fans,” she added.
Chet has previously spoken about the challenges of 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—,” he said on MTV’s Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets. “I actually grew up feeling completely f—— worthless.” He explained that people often treated him as if he thought he was better than others, even though he simply wanted to be friends and be treated like everyone else. “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.”
Chet faced an internal struggle to build his confidence, which led to substance abuse issues. “If you 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 shared, adding that it was difficult to just go outside and say, “What’s up? I’m Chet.”
In 2021, Chet made headlines when he abandoned his sobriety journey and was involved in an abuse lawsuit 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.”
In August 2024, Chet 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.” He described his experience as being “31 years old, broke, strung out, sucked up, just skinny, just at rock bottom.” “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.”
