Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson become Greek citizens as PM hands them new passports

The Forrest Gump actor and Mamma Mia star regularly travel to the country - including earlier this month as they celebrated Hanks' 64th birthday on the Paros Island - so the news will be welcomed warmly by them.

They will also be delighted that Greece has also extended citizenship to their entire family, including their children Colin, 42, Elizabeth, 38, Chet, 29 and Truman, 24.

The family were praised after their efforts to help Greece as it recovered from a wildfire which killed 103 people in Mati, outside Athens, in July 2018.

"The Hanks family gave a signal all over the world for immediate relief actions to help our fire-stricken fellow citizens," said the order giving them honorary status signed by the Greek president, but also supported by the Prime Minister.

Hanks has said before that he is a big admirer of the country and reportedly spends nearly every summer on the Aegean island of Antiparos.

Wilson, whose mother is Greek, is believed to have played a big role in Hanks' decision to co-produce the romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding with her.

The couple, who have been married for 32 years, own a home on Greek island Antiparos, where they brought a plot of land in 2004 to build their own house.

And in 2018, they purchased a second home in the Skala area of the Greek island of Patmos.

There is a nearby heliport by the couple's lavish home, as the only way in and out of the island is via helicopter, according to reports.

Neither Hanks nor Wilson has yet to comment on their exciting news yet.

It comes after a difficult year for the pair after they both contracted coronavirus in March and became two of the most high-profile people to catch it at the start of the pandemic.

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