Famous Aston Villa fan The Prince of Wales has revealed the story of how Hollywood A-lister Tom Hanks ended up at Villa Park
Prince William has revealed the story behind how Tom Hanks came to be an Aston Villa Van(Image: Pierre Suu/Getty Images)
While it’s become commonly known that the future king is a big supporter of Aston Villa, publicly supporting the club for more than two decades, the Villains also have another world-famous A-lister within their ranks.
Tom Hanks, best known for huge Hollywood roles in Forest Gump, Castaway, Toy Story, and many, many more, also has a soft spot for the Claret and Blues, although, as Prince William revealed, he came to support the club in quite a bizarre way.
During a soon-to-be-released episode of Apple TV’s The Reluctant Traveller, The Prince of Wales was strolling and chatting with host and actor Eugene Levy, when the actor asked him if he was in the spot. Mr Levy opened: “Are you a football fan yourself?
William, Prince of Wales, and Prince George (obscured) are often at Villa Park
To which Prince William answered: “I’m a football fan, yes, Eugene. I support Aston Villa, you heard of them? Tom Hanks is a big fan.”
He added: “You might have heard of Aston Villa from there. And I love the story that Tom tells about why he suddenly supported Aston Villa, because when he was looking for a team to support, he saw the words Aston Villa, and thought that sounded quite like a sunny, nice villa place to go. When actually, if he turns up in Birmingham, it’s not that sunshiney.”
Although the two haven’t been spotted at a game together, Prince William was still often seen making an appearance at Villa Park, particularly on Champions League nights.
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The royal even admitted that he has a membership to Aston Villa TV and often posts anonymously on fan forums.
The love for Villa may be in the royal blood now, with Prince George also attending a few matches last year alongside his dad. George’s younger siblings also own Aston Villa shirts, although they haven’t officially made up their mind on whether they’ll become future Villains.
Tom Hanks has since been to a fair few games both home and away(Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Hanks himself has now gathered up quite a few years supporting Villa, too. Asked who he supported on the Graham Norton Show, the actor said: “Aston Villa. We’re doing quite well this year. Thank you… Anyone can root for Man United.”
He recounted how the first time he was in England, he was watching the football scores roll through one morning on TV, laughing at the names of many of the teams and then came an Aston Villa result.
He said: “Then one came up and it said ‘Aston Villa drew 1-1’ and I think Aston Villa, that sounds like a lovely little place. Turns out it’s Birmingham, it’s a fabulous place, Villa Park is magnificent to go to.”
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