Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson become citizens of Greece

July 27 (UPI) -- Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have officially become citizens of Greece.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis shared the news Saturday on Instagram, months after signing an honorary naturalization order that offered Hanks, 64, Wilson, 63, and their children Greek citizenship.

In a photo, Hanks and Wilson show off their new Greek passports while posing with Mitsotakis and his wife, Mareva Grabowski.

"@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens!" Mitsotakis captioned the post.

Wilson is of Greek heritage, while Hanks is a Greek Orthodox convert. The couple often vacation in Greece, where they own property in Antiparos, and have produced films based on Greece and the Greek community, including My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Hanks and Wilson were offered honorary citizenship in December after the couple helped raise awareness about the 2018 wildfires near Athens that killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

"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 said in a statement to CNN at the time.

Hanks confirmed the news in a tweet in January.

"Starting 2020 as an Honorary citizen of all of Greece! Kronia pola! (more or less, 'happy year!')," he wrote.

Hanks most recently starred in the film Greyhound, which premiered on Apple TV+ this month. Deadline said the movie had the largest-ever opening-weekend release for Apple TV+.

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