Tom Hanks couldn’t have been happier to celebrate Easter with his bevy of famous friends, including John Stamos, Nia Vardalos and Billy Zane. The 69-year-old pulled a humorous face as he joined the group for a photo in celebration of Greek Orthodox Easter, alongside his wife of 37 years, Rita Wilson.
The couple were sitting at a table decorated with blue cloth, and surrounded by several Hollywood stars with Greek heritage, like John, Nia and Billy. “It’s our heritage in real time. Loud, warm, a little wild. Plates overflowing, hugs that last too long, stories that get better every year,” wrote John in his Instagram caption.
“And then the music starts…lush, soulful, a little messy in the best way. @tomhanks leading that ‘Christos Anesti’ blues like a sermon, Chicky baby @michaelchiklis on vocals bringing the fire, and me on skins just trying to hold it all together. @jimgianopulos and blues guitar!”
“This crew…this beautiful, chaotic Greek mafia…it’s everything,” he concluded. “Christos Anesti.”
The crew took to the comment section to share the love, with Rita writing: “We are family,” while Nia added: “Happy Greekster!” and Billy shared: “Great times as every year buddy! And great work holding down the rhythm on those drums beneath the oddest and most fun blues band in town! Ela!”
Tom has been part of the Greek Orthodox church for decades now and converted just before his marriage to Rita in 1988. The actress’s mother was ethnically Greek and born in Albania, while her father was a Bulgarian Muslim born in Greece, who opted to convert to the Orthodox church when he married Rita’s mother.
© InstagramThe mother of two is proud of her Greek heritage and has worked on several major projects that highlight the beauty and culture of the Mediterranean country. She and Tom produced all three My Big Fat Greek Wedding films, which their friend Nia wrote and starred in, and the couple also served as the producers of Mamma Mia! and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Learn more about Rita and Tom’s family below…
Rita is open about her heritage and wrote about the cultural experience of Greek Easter in a poignant essay. “No matter where I find myself in the world, I never miss Easter, or as we call it, Pascha. I have celebrated in Paris, London, New York City, Los Angeles, and in Salinas, California, at a small, humble church that was pure and simple,” she shared.
“I have to say, the Greeks know how to do Easter. Make no mistake. This is the most important holiday in our church. It is a beautiful week. I haven’t even begun to touch on what the week is really like.”
© Getty Images“It is so much [deeper], so much richer…but one thing is clear. It is a powerful, beautiful, mysterious, humbling, healing and moving week. It is filled with tradition and ritual. It is about renewal and faith,” she added. Tom, Rita and their children were granted honorary Greek citizenship in 2019 after raising awareness of the 2018 wildfire near Athens.
© Bruce Glikas/WireImage“I’ve been Hellenic now for the better part of 32 years. Greece is a haven…the land, the sky, the water, it’s good for the soul,” Tom shared at the Golden Globes in 2020.
“It’s a healing place, particularly if you get into that fabulous, fabulous Greek schedule of sleeping until noon, staying up until three o’clock in the morning and arguing in a taverna until three a.m. It’s just the best life one can have.”
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