--- title: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson Had Different Reactions to COVID-19 description: Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson had very different reactions to COVID-19 according to a new interview with the actor canonical: https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-07-06T17:23:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:05:53.690Z og:title: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Had Very Different Reactions to COVID-19 og:description: The actor sheds light on his experience in a new interview og:url: https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5284386fb93f79b4/698a0fffb21a9c79f4503c66/Tom-Hanks-Coronavirus-Reaction.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Tom Hanks on his coronavirus reaction og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Had Very Different Reactions to COVID-19 twitter:description: The actor sheds light on his experience in a new interview twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5284386fb93f79b4/698a0fffb21a9c79f4503c66/Tom-Hanks-Coronavirus-Reaction.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Had Very Different Reactions to COVID-19 > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=58dc52ab-b0c7-453c-b69d-73f140e77d98&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Tom Hanks On People Refusing to Wear Face Masks to Prevent COVID-19 [Watch (HLS stream): Tom Hanks On People Refusing to Wear Face Masks to Prevent COVID-19](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZxqCSFzy.m3u8) (0:37)  _Published 2020-07-07. Tom Hanks has little patience for those who refuse to wear a mask in public as various states watch COVID-19 cases rise._ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 6, 2020 5:23 PM UTC Tom Hanks has little patience for those who refuse to wear a mask in public as various states watch COVID-19 cases rise. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 6, 2020 5:23 PM UTC [Tom Hanks](https://time.com/4530835/tom-hanks-meeting-fans/) has played many different roles—Forrest Gump, Woody, Turner, Captain Phillips, Sully, and Mr. Rogers to name a few. One role that he never asked for, though, was [among the visible famous faces of the coronavirus pandemic](https://time.com/5801852/tom-hanks-coronavirus/). As with all his other roles, Hanks handled it with grace, sincerity, and honesty. Now, in a new interview Hanks talks about being hit with the virus and the very different reactions he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had to COVID-19. Hanks went public with his diagnosis [in a tweet](https://time.com/5801765/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reactions/) on March 11, telling the world that he and his wife, the actor and singer Rita Wilson, had both tested positive for the coronavirus. He shared his experience and the world got to learn a little bit more about the virus when the [growing health threat](https://time.com/5863324/july-fourth-coronavirus/) was first making headlines. Fans followed along as [Hanks and Wilson](https://time.com/5802265/tom-hanks-rita-wilson-coronavirus-update/) went from isolation in Australia, where they were originally diagnosed, [offering updates](https://time.com/5803846/tom-hanks-coronavirus-update/) on their recovery, urging others to stay safe, and eventually traveling back to the U.S. His missives helped make the virus [all the more real to people](https://time.com/5801765/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reactions/). In a [new interview with _The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/06/tom-hanks-on-surviving-coronavirus-i-had-crippling-body-aches-fatigue-and-couldnt-concentrate), the Oscar-winning actor explained how he managed to stay calm, even though he is in a high-risk group. “When we were in the hospital, I said: ‘I’m 63, I have type 2 diabetes, I had a stent in my heart – am I a red flag case?’” He was told that as long as his temperature stayed low and he did not get pneumonia, his doctors would not be worried. That was enough to help him stay relaxed. “I’m not one who wakes up in the morning wondering if I’m going to see the end of the day or not,” he said. “I’m pretty calm about that.” While he wasn’t unsettled, he was surprised about his and Wilson’s difference in reaction to the virus. “Our discomfort because of the virus was pretty much done in two weeks and we had very different reactions, and that was odd,” he told _The Guardian_. “My wife lost her sense of taste and smell, she had severe nausea, she had a much higher fever than I did. I just had crippling body aches, I was very fatigued all the time and I couldn’t concentrate on anything for more than about 12 minutes.” “That last bit is kinda like my natural state anyway,” Hanks joked. As he has recovered from the virus, Hanks doesn’t want anyone else to get it, pointing out the importance of wearing masks to help slow the spread of the virus. “There’s really only three things everyone needs to do: wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands,” said Hanks. “I know societally it’s been politicized, but I don’t get it, man. I don’t understand how anyone can put their foot down and say: ‘I don’t have to do my part.’” That’s just the kind of response one would expect from America’s[ Mr. Nice Guy](https://time.com/5826972/tom-hanks-typewriter-letter/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/"},"headline":"Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Had Very Different Reactions to COVID-19","datePublished":"2020-07-06T17:23:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:05:53.690Z","description":"The actor discussed his illness in a new interview","url":"https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Brief","clickmonsters","COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5284386fb93f79b4/698a0fffb21a9c79f4503c66/Tom-Hanks-Coronavirus-Reaction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5284386fb93f79b4/698a0fffb21a9c79f4503c66/Tom-Hanks-Coronavirus-Reaction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tom Hanks on his coronavirus reaction","caption":"Tom Hanks on his coronavirus reaction","creditText":"NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/","name":"Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Had Very Different Reactions to COVID-19"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tom Hanks On People Refusing to Wear Face Masks to Prevent COVID-19","description":"Tom Hanks has little patience for those who refuse to wear a mask in public as various states watch COVID-19 cases rise.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ZxqCSFzy/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2020-07-07T11:42:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZxqCSFzy.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/","duration":"PT37S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5863326/tom-hanks-coronavirus-reaction/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```