Greece is ‘good for the soul,’ says American actor Tom Hanks

Greece is a “haven” and a “healing place,” Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, who was recently granted honorary Greek citizenship, told reporters at the Golden Globes awards in California on Sunday.

“I’ve been around the world, to beautiful places … none of them tops Greece. The land, the sky, the water, it’s good for the soul; it’s a healing place. Particularly if you get into that fabulous, fabulous Greek schedule of sleeping until noon, staying up until 3 o’clock in the morning, and arguing in a taverna until 3 a.m. It’s just the best life one can have,” Hanks said in comments to the press after being presented with the Cecil B. DeMille by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”

“I’ve been Hellenic for the better part of 32 years,” said the 63-year-old acclaimed actor and filmmaker, highlighting his marriage to actress and producer Rita Wilson whose mother Dorothea was Greek.

The Hollywood power couple has a home on the Aegean island of Antiparos, where they are known to spend much of their summer holidays.

Hanks was made an honorary citizen by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on December 27.