| Chet Hanks | |
| Birth Name: | Chester Marlon Hanks |
| Birth Date: | 4 August 1990 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other Names: | Chet Hanx |
| Years Active: | 2007–present |
| Children: | 1 |
| Parents: | Tom Hanks Rita Wilson |
| Relatives: | Colin Hanks (half-brother) Jim Hanks (uncle) Larry Hanks (uncle) |
Chester Marlon Hanks (born August 4, 1990) is an American actor and musician. The son of actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, he has had recurring roles on television series Empire, Shameless and Your Honor,[1] [2] as well as guest roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Atlanta.
Chet Hanks is the third child of Tom Hanks, and the first child born to Hanks and actress Rita Wilson.[3]
During high school, Hanks' parents sent him to a wilderness therapy program for troubled teens.[4] Hanks later attended the Oakley School, a now-closed therapeutic boarding school in Oakley, Utah,[5] where he played lacrosse.[6]
He studied theater at Northwestern University where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.[7] His older half-brother is actor Colin Hanks.
Hanks' acting career began with his debut role as Dexter in the 2007 film Bratz.[8] Soon after, his acting career picked up with a string of small film roles in the early 2010s. He was active in television in the latter half of the decade after achieving sobriety. From 2016 to 2018, Hanks appeared as Charlie, the father of character Sierra Morton's child, on the American version of Shameless. He played rapper Blake on hip-hop drama Empire from 2018 to 2019.[9] In 2020, he had a cameo in the World War II film Greyhound starring his father.[10] Starting later that year, he portrayed Joey Maldini, the best friend of a hit-and-run victim's brother, in the Showtime courtroom miniseries Your Honor.[11]
In 2011, while a student at Northwestern University, Hanks recorded "White and Purple" under the alias Chet Haze. The song was a remix of Wiz Khalifa's single "Black and Yellow" with the lyrics changed in reference to his school colors.[12] [13]
Hanks and Drew Arthur formed the musical duo FTRZ after being introduced in 2016. In 2018, they released two singles ("Models" and "NowhereLand") as well as the Ocean Park EP.[14] [15] The duo released two tracks in 2020, "Harley" and "Ticket Out My Head" under the new name Something Out West.[16]
On March 26, 2021, Hanks posted a video to Instagram declaring a "White Boy Summer".[17] While the video was mostly received with good humor,[18] merchandise released by Hanks to capitalize on the expression's popularity was criticized for using a font similar to those favored by white nationalist groups.[19]
Hanks has a daughter, Michaiah, born 2016, with former partner Tiffany Miles.[20] Hanks credits his daughter and his parents for helping him to overcome his struggles with substance abuse.[21]
Along with his parents, Hanks was granted Greek citizenship in 2020 in recognition for his parents' work raising awareness for the 2018 Attica wildfires.[22]
Hanks stated that he is two-years sober in an interview on The Adam Friedland Show that was released in October 2023.[23]
In the summer of 2020, Hanks posted on Instagram in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.[24] That October, he announced a social media hiatus, saying that "pro-Trump conspiracy theorists" were targeting his family.[25] QAnon believers had accused his father of engaging in pedophilia and practicing Satanism earlier that year.[26] Following his return to Instagram (less than a month later), he posted a video insulting Donald Trump on November 7, the day that news outlets called the 2020 United States presidential election for Joe Biden.[27]
Hanks has described himself as the black sheep of his family due to the contrast between his public controversies and his father's clean-cut image as "America's dad".[28]
In 2015, Hanks was wanted by British police after damaging a hotel room, incurring $1,800 in damages. He entered rehab for cocaine addiction that year.[29]
A judge in Fort Bend County, Texas granted Hanks’ former girlfriend Kiana Parker a temporary protective order against him in January 2021; in her filing, she described months of verbal and physical abuse.[30] Early that March, Hanks filed a lawsuit against Parker for theft, conversion, assault, and battery, stemming from an altercation on January 8.[31] Footage of the event, in which Hanks can be seen bleeding, was released by TMZ on March 31.[32] Hanks' resurgence in the public eye as a result of his "White Boy Summer" video led to increased coverage of his legal battles with Parker.[33]
On August 10, 2021, Hanks posted a video to Instagram initially urging viewers to get vaccinated for COVID-19. He then revealed it was a joke and denied being vaccinated himself, claiming, "You ain't sticking me with that motherfucking needle. It's the motherfucking flu. Get over it, okay?" He received backlash for these comments on social media, with many pointing out that his parents had been infected with COVID-19 the previous year and publicly encouraged others to get vaccinated as a result.[34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Bratz | Dexter | ||
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Student | ||
| 2011 | Larry Crowne | Pizza Delivery Boy | ||
| 2012 | Project X | Partygoer | ||
| 2015 | Fantastic Four | Jimmy Grimm | ||
| 2020 | Greyhound | Bushnell |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Maron | Trey | 4 episodes | |
| 2016–2018 | Shameless | Charlie | 7 episodes | |
| 2017 | Tales | Troy | Episode: "F*ck the Police" | |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Victor | 2 episodes | ||
| 2018–2019 | Empire | Blake | Recurring role (season 4); main role (season 5); 17 episodes | |
| 2020–2021 | Your Honor | Joey Maldini | 6 episodes | |
| 2021 | Liam McCall | Episode: "Leda and the Swan, Part II" | ||
| 2022 | Atlanta | Curtis | Episode: "Trini 2 De Bone" | |
| Ziwe | Himself | Episode: "Celebrity Rights Activist" | ||
| 2023 | The Eric Andre Show | Episode: "Don't You Say a Word" | ||
| The Adam Friedland Show | Episode: "The Adam Friedland Show - Chet Hanks" | |||
| 2024 | The Surreal Life | Himself | Main cast (season 8) |