Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are now Greek citizens

Hollywood star couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have been given honorary citizenship in Greece. The couple and children in fact been given honorary citizenship in 2019 itself after officials highlighted Hank's role in helping spread awareness about 2018 fires that devastated parts of Athens and left many dead.

Now, a photo on social media is widely been shared which shows Hanks and Wilson proudly holding their new passports as they pose with the country's prime minister.

"Tom Hanks is a person who showed real interest in the people who suffered from the fire in Mati and promoted this issue in the global media," Greek Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos told CNN in a statement in December.

Wilson, in fact, is part Greek and her husband Hanks is a Greek Orthodox convert. The couple has been often spotted vacationing in Greece and even owns a property on the island of Antiparos.

The couple is known to be supportive of the Greek community and has produced several films based on the community.|

"I've been Hellenic now for the better part of 32 years," Hanks told reporters at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. "Greece is a haven... I've been around the world, I've been to the most beautiful places in the world, none of them tops Greece."

The couple was one of the first few celebrities to have contracted the coronavirus disease in March during their trip to Australia. They remained in quarantine for two weeks and eventually returned to America. They have since then spoken about their treatment to spread awareness around the virus and even donated plasma to help other Covid-19 patients.