Chet Hanks, the 35-year-old son of Hollywood star Tom Hanks, has offered a deeply personal account of his journey through addiction and recovery, revealing that finding peace required him to stop trying to control every outcome and instead place his trust in God. In a candid interview on the podcast «Artist Friendly with Joel Madden,» Hanks described how embracing gratitude for life's simplest moments — rather than fixating on missed opportunities — ultimately shifted the course of his career and personal well-being.
Hanks, who has been open about his past struggles with substance abuse, explained that after completing rehab, he found himself broke, without auditions, and with little interest in his music. Yet, he said, learning to appreciate small pleasures like a morning walk or having a place to stay became a turning point. «I did notice that once I learned to truly love the simple s---, it made... my career happen a lot smoother,» he told Madden. «That's actually the game changer that shifted everything in my career.»
The actor and musician recalled a period when he had nothing going on professionally. «Nobody's calling my phone. Nobody's f---ing, I don't even have an audition. Music? No one gives a f--- about my music,» he said. «But I was so grateful to just have a spot, have my bike, wake up in the morning. Wow. It's a beautiful day. I'm gonna go for a walk.» That shift in mindset, he said, eventually led to opportunities.
Hanks said that surrendering his worries to God, rather than relying solely on hustle and grinding, was key to his progress. «When I truly let go, and I'm like, you know what, f--- all that. I gotta just enjoy the simple s--- and trust God,» he explained. «And what I'm worrying about I give it to God. I tell God, 'Yo God, check this out. This is what I'm worrying about. I'm stressed about this. I don't know what the f--- I'm gonna do. I don't gotta answer. I'm giving it to you. You deal with it. Please. Amen.' That's when s--- started happening.»
Reflecting on his addiction, Hanks offered a candid explanation for what drew him to drugs. «See, that was my problem, is that I liked not being in control. That was like the thrill of it,» he said. He also looked back on his childhood, explaining how growing up as the son of one of the world's most famous actors shaped his self-worth. Hanks said he was «hyper aware» of how people interacted with him, to the point that it became overwhelming. «These micro things that I'm aware of, that was so overwhelming, that the way I dealt with it was just tune it out completely,» he said. «Because if I didn't shut it off completely, I would be consumed by it. And that kind of created its own monster.»
Those feelings, he said, made him crave a sense of freedom that had eluded him for years. «The circumstances I was born into was, like, I didn't feel like I needed to meet the bar. I felt like I had to excel past the bar in order for me to just... live up to who I thought I should be,» he explained. Over time, those pressures became deeply internalized. «Over long periods of time, the result, for me at least, was to internalize it – forming the belief that there is something wrong with me,» he admitted. The emotional toll, he said, boiled down to one overwhelming feeling: worthlessness. «People ask me, 'What was it like for you growing up?'... They have an idea in their head, like, of like some, like f---ing awesome. That wasn't it dude,» he emphasized. «It was, like, just feeling f---ing worthless.»
Hanks revealed that his current living situation — a trailer home in Nashville — represents the freedom he spent years searching for. He traded swanky apartment living for a trailer park while pursuing his country music dreams. In 2025, he launched his band, Something Out West, with collaborator Drew Arthur. The duo released the single «Leaving Hollywood» and recently performed at the Stagecoach Festival. «I just love the feeling of, like, freedom,» he told Madden. «That, to me, is, I realize, like, that that's the most important thing in life for me, hands down.»
Looking back on his journey, Hanks said one lesson stands above all the rest. «I just feel like gratitude is the key to unlocking everything,» he explained. «Because if you're not grateful for, at least, you could have a s----- job that you hate. But if you're not at least grateful in that s----- job for your health, for your loved ones. Then if you don't learn the importance of gratitude when you don't have s---, you're not gonna learn it If you get all the s---. And even if you get all the s---, if you've never learned why you have to be grateful, then it won't even f---ing matter, and you won't.»
