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Tom Hanks on Toy Story, Sequels and The Scene He Regrets
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Aston Villa: 40 Years of Misplaced Mediterranean Hope
At 27:30 · chapter starts 26:05
A Villa fan named Brenda asks whether Hanks will support Scotland's John McGinn at the World Cup. What follows is one of the episode's most joyful digressions: Hanks's origin story as an Aston Villa supporter. It was 1985. His first UK press junket. A BBC football scoreboard. And a name — Aston Villa — that sounded to his American ears like an island off the Côte d'Azur, near Portofino. [1] — Tom Hanks "Hanks fell for Aston Villa in 1985: Tom Hanks became an Aston Villa fan during his first UK press junket in 1985 after seeing the name on a…" 26:46 He was in. Forty years of claret-and-blue faith followed — mostly hopeful, occasionally heartbroken, culminating in Villa's recent European adventures. He notes with a rueful laugh that he expects they'll finally win the Premier League after his death. The conversation then broadens into the World Cup, and Hanks delivers a beautiful observation about why Americans have fallen for football: the drama of a 2-1 match going into extra time, when your heart can break or swell on a single moment of the ball being in the right place.
Tom Hanks chose Aston Villa in 1985 because the name sounded like a Mediterranean island. He's been a loyal fan for 40 years through disappointment and Europe — and he's still waiting for the Premier League title.
Tom Hanks became an Aston Villa fan during his first UK press junket in 1985 after seeing the name on a BBC football scoreboard and thinking it sounded Mediterranean.
Aston Villa last won a major European trophy in 1982, just before Tom Hanks became a fan.
