Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are officially Greek citizens

Raise a glass of Ouzo and smash a plate for Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. The Americans have chosen a great time to secure their relationship with Greece and get the heck out of the US. Hanks and Wilson became Greek citizens over the weekend and celebrated their citizenship news in Greece, where they have been isolating for the past few weeks.Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis shared a picture of himself posing with his wife Mareva Grabowski and the two American actors, who proudly display their new Greek passports. Hanks and Wilson became honorary Greek citizens in 2019 along with their children and were given a year to present their oath to the interior minister for their citizenship to became official. It appears the couple completed their requirements this past weekend and have the paperwork to prove it.

 

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@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens! ???

A post shared by Kyriakos Mitsotakis (@kyriakos_) on Jul 25, 2020 at 11:02pm PDT

Hanks and Wilson became the first two major celebrities to test positive for COVID-19 in March while in Australia on set of the new Baz Luhrmann film, which will star Hanks as Elvis Presley’s famous manager Colonel Tom Parker. After recovering, the couple returned home and donated their plasma to help researchers find a vaccine for the deadly virus. Hanks has been vocal in interviews about the severity of the symptoms he and Wilson experienced and has encouraged people to wear masks, wash their hands and physically distance. In conclusion, the couple have done their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the US. They now get to have a vacation in stunning Greece.

Starting 2020 as an Honorary citizen of all of Greece! Kronia pola! ( more or less, “happy year!”). Hanx pic.twitter.com/b8fmrgjvYP

— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) January 2, 2020

Hanks and Wilson have a long history of visiting Greece and supporting films and charities close to the Greek people. Wilson and Hanks helped Canadian actor and screenwriter Nia Vardalos turn her semiautobiographical one woman play My Big Fat Greek Wedding into a feature film. Released in 2002, the film went on to hold the title of highest grossing romantic comedy for over a decade and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film also produced a short-lived TV spinoff and a 2016 sequel titled My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Hanks later helped produce Vardalos’ 2009 rom com My Life In Ruins, which was the first American film to ever shoot at the Acropolis. Hanks’ Playtone Productions also helped produced 2017’s Mamma Mia!, which filmed on the Greek island of Skopelos.Hanks and Wilson, who is part Greek, have spent much of their free time away from movie sets in Greece. The couple own property on the island of Antiparos and Hanks converted to Greek Orthodox after marrying Wilson. Hanks and Wilson were vocal about the tragic 2018 fires near Athens that claimed the lives of more than 100 people. In 2019, Greek Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos told CNN "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.”[video_embed id='1967864']RELATED: Tom Hanks donating his plasma for COVID-19 research[/video_embed]