Tom Hanks’ son Chet pleads ‘I’m an American citizen’ after being trapped in Colombia

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Tom Hanks’ son Chet has been left stranded in Colombia after being told he ‘needed a green card’ to re-enter the United States.

The 35-year-old model, actor and musician is the son of Hollywood actors Tom and Rita Wilson.

In the past he’s come under the spotlight after entering rehab for cocaine addiction and came under fire for telling people Covid-19 was ‘just a flu’.

He’s also previously spoken about being the ‘black sheep’ of the family due to his parents’ wholesome public images but has now been sober for nearly three years.

However, this week Chet has again found himself generating attention after declaring he’s unable to travel back to his home country

Posting a video on Instagram this weekend, Chet began by asking his 603,000 followers: ‘Y’all ready for story time?’

Tom Hanks' son Chet pleads 'I'm an American citizen' after being trapped in Colombia
Tom Hanks’ son Chet has been stranded in Colombia (Picture: Chet Hanks/ Instagram)
Tom Hanks' son Chet pleads 'I'm an American citizen' after being trapped in Colombia
He was told he needed a green card to return home to the US after travelling on a Greek passport (Picture: Chet Hanks/ Instagram)

He then went on to explain that he’d travelled to Puerto Rico last week for a birthday party where he ‘had a good time.’

The actor – who had captioned his post ‘free me’ – then explained that he’d decided to take a detour to Medellin to visit a friend named Taylor.

‘Sounds good, right? We’ll check this out,’ he went on.

He then explained that he’d been travelling with his Greek passport and had decided not to use his American one as it was about to expire and ‘sometimes they don’t let you in the country, even if it hasn’t expired, but it’s about to expire’.

‘I go to the airport to check in [for] my flight three hours early,’ he then detailed.

‘This is an international flight. They tell me that if I’m using a foreign passport, I need a green card to get back into America.’

Shocked by the situation he now found himself in, Chet declared the reason he didn’t have a green card was because ‘I’m an American citizen’ but was now ‘literally stuck in Colombia’.

‘Granted, there’s worse places to be stuck, but I literally have no f***ing idea what I’m gonna do, and the only embassy to get this s*** settled is in Bogota,’ he explained

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 29: Chet Hanks attends the Clarins Iconic Lip Perfector with a Sugar & Shine Galentine's Event at Alba on January 29, 2026 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Clarins USA)
The actor jokingly begged someone to ‘save me’ (Picture: Jerritt Clark/ Getty Images for Clarins USA)

However, he went on to say he ‘didn’t want to go’ to the capital, which is only about an hour away from Medellin. Instead, he begged for help, asking for someone to ‘free’ him, smirking as he tried to hold back laughter.

Commenting on the post, many people then poked fun at Chet’s predicament and apparent inability to sort out his documentation.

‘Lol have a nice life in Medellin,’ Kelsey wrote.

‘Time to start a family out there 😂,’ Kreaythony advised.

‘Better call someone in your family to have them FedEx your passport to you ASAP,’ Amy suggested, however another replied saying that, ‘Tom Hanks doesn’t have the best of luck with FedEx’, referencing the Oscar winner’s iconic film Cast Away – in which his character crashes on a deserted island aboard a FedEx airplane.

Despite being stuck in Colombia, Chet didn’t seem to be in a rush to get home – soon after sharing clips from a dance club.

The first-born son of Tom and Rita, Chet’s half-siblings are Samantha and Colin Hanks, while he also has a younger brother Truman, 28.

After a highly publicised battle with addiction, Chet also came under fire in 2021 for his song White Boy Summer, which was co-opted by extremist and white supremacist political groups.

"Too Much" UK Special Screening - VIP Arrivals
Chet is the first-born son of actors Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks (Picture: Dave Benett/ WireImage)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 05: (L-R) Samantha Bryant, Colin Hanks, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Ann Hanks, Chet Hanks, and Truman Theodore Hanks attend the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 05, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
He’s previously detailed feeling like the ‘black sheep’ of the family (Picture: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images)

He also faced accusations of cultural appropriation after using a Jamaican accent at the 2020 Golden Globes.

However, after going sober in 2022, he’s since starred in several shows including the Netflix series Running Point alongside Kate Hudson.

Last year he spoke to People about turning his life around by getting clean.

‘One hundred percent. None of this would be possible without sobriety,’ he said.

‘It’s not difficult at all. What’s difficult is when you’re trying to manage your life and you’re not sober, that’s what’s difficult.

‘When you just commit and decide and you stick to it, it’s not even something that you negotiate with. It’s just non-negotiable. And life becomes extremely easy.’

Last year the actor also revealed he spent much of his childhood feeling ‘worthless’.

While appearing on MTV’s Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets, he shared with fellow celebrities on the aeries: ‘I’ll tell you something about my childhood. People think that being Tom Hanks’ son, like, I would grow up feeling like I was the s**t.

chet hanks your honor
Some of his best known roles have included in the drama Your Honor (Picture: Showtime)

‘I actually grew up feeling completely f**king worthless.’

The actor, who has appeared in Empire, Shameless and Your Honor, then revealed: ‘People treated me like, “You must think you’re better than me” when I didn’t. I just wanted to be friends with everybody and be treated like everybody else.’

‘But what am I supposed to do? Walk through the doors and be all meek and timid? That was a mind f**k for me to deal with.’

‘If you do walk in through the door and you’re like, “Here I am mother f**ker,” then it’s like, “Oh look at you arrogant son of a b****.” I did internalise all that negativity. Maybe I am f**king worthless, you know what I’m saying?’

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