Tom Hanks sends message to Liverpool as Hollywood star spotted at Aston Villa

It’s not that often you see Hollywood stars showing up to Premier League matches. So Tom Hanks was a surprise guest as Liverpool took on Aston Villa on Monday.

Given that the Reds are one of the biggest clubs in the world and have grown in popularity in the United States, one might have expected the star of Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan to be at Villa Park to support Jürgen Klopp’s team. Instead, it was the hosts that Hanks introduced himself to.

The two-time Oscar winner is a self-proclaimed Villa fan, having started supporting them after a previous visit to the UK. He has featured in matches in the past and was there to see his team come back from 3-1 down to salvage a point against Liverpool.

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Before the match, he spoke about the problems he faced after Villa in the United States, while apparently taking a subtle dig at Liverpool.

“One of the problems of being in the United States of America, every time you read the soccer media, you always find these other teams,” Hanks said. “I look for an article about Villa and you get these two Manchester teams and those in red, but more and more you start to see stories about Villa.”

Hanks added: “I was here a year ago for the first time and it was something magical. Whenever I’m in the UK I always check my schedule to see if I can make it to Villa Park and it turned out I could watch Villa make history tonight. At the top of the Villa! »