Remember how Tom Hanks, one of the world’s most-famous men, was also one of the most-famous people to have contracted COVID-19 early into the pandemic? The beloved actor did so while on Baz Luhrmann’s set in Queensland, Australia, where they were filming a new Elvis Presley biopic (Hanks plays Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker). And so, back in March, he and wife Rita Wilson went through it, recovered, and went home. Well now, months later, they’re back in Australia, putting their antibodies to good use on the up-and-running film set. (That is, in addition to the big bag of plasma he already donated.)
On Tuesday, he had a post-quarantine coming-out party at a mall, like a debutante for these strange times. A paparazzo got a clip, which is published on the Daily Mail, of him going in a store. In it, his handler says “…get a thing of him shopping,” and to which Hanks adds, “You’re the first, man! You’re the first.” The iPhone video functions like an establishing shot of a film back in production after the customary 14 days of lying low. For the occasion, Hanks wore an Adidas tracksuit with a backpack and no mask. It’s a very sporty look. It really suits him.
When Hanks touched down a couple weeks ago, he became an unlikely tabloid subject, unusual for a man named “the nicest” 40 years in a row by newlyweds doing engagement photos in Central Park. The Mail said Hanks and Wilson is thought to have quarantined at their own chi-chi resort rather than in one of the hotels approved for those arriving in the country (some have complained about the food and air quality in the hotels, according to local reports). But it’s all part of a plan to get filming back up and running so those jobs can continue, Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament when it asked her about special treatment. She confirmed Hanks is in compliance, saying, “Under that plan they have to stay in the place for two weeks just like everybody else, and they will have random checks, as my understanding, by the police.”
What would really smooth things over is if Baz Luhrmann reprised his narrative role in the sequel to “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen),” called “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Mask)” on behalf of the production, but well, he’s understandably busy bringing Elvis back to life.
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