The 33-year-old son of Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks opens up about his upbringing, his reservations about doing reality TV and teases his flirtations with Kim Zolciak.
Chet Hanks has appeared on the small screen in a handful of acting roles, but his stint on MTV’s Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets was his first time starring in a reality show — and the actor said it turned out to be “one of the best experiences” of his life.
In an interview with TooFab at the show’s virtual junket, the 33-year-old — who is the son of Oscar winner Tom Hanks and actress Rita Wilson — explained why it was “healing” to share his “truth” about growing up as the son of the famous actor.
During a conversation with his Surreal Life cast members, as shown in Tuesday’s premiere, Hanks opened up to his new housemates about the struggles he faced as a child.
“I’ll tell you something about my childhood. People think that being Tom Hanks’ son, I would grow up feeling like I was the s–t,” he said. “I actually grew up feeling completely f–king worthless.”
“People treated me, like, ‘You must think you’re better than me.’ When I didn’t,” he continued. “I just wanted to be friends with everybody, and just be treated normally like everybody else. But what am I supposed to do? Walk through the doors and be all meek and timid? That was a mindf–k for me to deal with. ‘Cause then if you do walk in through the door and you’re like, ‘Here I am!’ Motherf–kers, [would say], ‘Ah, look at you. You arrogant son of a bitch!'”
“So I did internalize all that negativity, and be like, ‘Wow, maybe I am f–king worthless?'” Hanks added. “So it was a battle for me, mentally and emotionally, just to be able to walk outside, look someone in the eye, and say, ‘What’s up? I’m Chet.'”
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When TooFab asked what inspired him to share his experience with his costars — and ultimately — viewers, and if helped him address some of his complicated feelings from his childhood, Hanks said, “It gave me a chance to voice, to use my own voice, to express things.”
“It had already been addressed, but it was also very healing just to be able to just to express myself on such a big platform and utilize my own voice to tell my own experience and my truth, you know?” he continued. “So that in itself was hugely beneficial to me.”
He added that his “main reason” for joining Surreal Life was so that people could get to know him in a different way than they may have previously perceived him. “It was just awesome to be able to get a chance to do that,” he said.
Hanks reflected on his experience starring in his first reality television show, revealing the “only reservation” he had going into it beforehand.
“I had never done reality TV before,” he said. “So I definitely had reservations just from being filmed 24/7, you know, it’s a lot. Like, having a camera in your face as soon as you wake up before you even brush your teeth, you still got crust in your eyes and stuff,” he shared. “So that was my only reservation, but then just I tried to just go into it and be totally enthusiastic and present for everything that we did and the whole experience, and it turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.”
In addition to Hanks, Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets also stars Kim Zolciak, Macy Gray, Ally Brooke, O.T. Genasis, Josie Canseco, along with Tyler Posey and Johnny Weir.
The trailer for Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets teased a possible hookup and flirtation between Hanks and Zolciak, with the former referring to the latter as a “MILF.”
When asked whether or not fans can expect to see a flirtation between the two, Hanks replied, “I can’t confirm or deny anything. You’re just gonna have to wait and see.”
Zolciak, for her part, shared a similar response.
“Who wouldn’t flirt with Chet? Hello!” she told TooFab. “You’ll have to stay tuned to see, you know, he’s a great guy. You’ll have to definitely watch and see.”
Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets premieres on July 23 on MTV.
