Actor Tom Hanks, the Kermit of humans, lived up to his billing as an Everyman this week by doing the most average, relatable thing possible: riding the 1 train.
You're taking up two seats sir - Tom Hanks sits back as he rides the New York subway http://t.co/Nq8Me2sBtJ pic.twitter.com/gBNIBdcnAB
— Standard Showbiz (@standardshowbiz) January 23, 2015
But all the "Everyman-relatable charm" in the world can't hide the ugly truth about Hanks's subway sojourn: he's a seat hog. A strategic seat hog. A ruthless seat hog. Albeit, the most relatable seat hog in NYC, but still. Somewhere in the depths of the tunnels, the ghost of Jake Gyllenhaal is hanging his head in shame while eating bagel crumbs from the floor.
Hanks was spotted on the 1 train on Thursday holding court with an invisible friend, looking somewhat like a brass sculpture on a park bench—only, you know, more relatable than that. More...Everymanish. You can see more photos here.
It's cool Tom Hanks rides the subway like the rest of us! It seems he's not down with the new #manspreading rules! pic.twitter.com/JQ0JjpLJPP
— Mike Allan (@DJMikeAllan) January 23, 2015
Some people found that seeing Hanks amongst the straphanger set filled them with impotent rage:
the fact that tom hanks still takes the subway in new york city is just one of the reasons why tom hanks is better than all of us
— katt (@kattparry) January 22, 2015
Hanks is no subway virgin: he told NY Magazine a few years ago that he loved taking it while he was starring on Broadway: "Nobody looks at anybody on the subway. Occasionally someone might give you a thumbs-up, and you nod. But the city is magnificent as far as that brand of easy anonymity. You just fold right in." Again, Jake Gyllenhaal might disagree, but he is no Everyman, just a poltergeist cursed to roam the subways until someone says his name three times in a row.
So Hanks has made no secret of his love for our mass transit system—he even has (or had) a NYC subway map hanging on his fridge. One lucky couple spotted him roaming around underground just a few months ago. Uncanny.
But just as Gyllenhaal inspired a city into mass hallucinating his presence, so too has Hanks had an effect on mobile New Yorkers. Except in this case, it's not that people think they've sat next to Hanks—it's that a lot of NYers are convinced other people look like Tom Hanks... combined with somebody else.
Guy on the subway this morning looked like a cross between Tom Hanks and John Hamm. The whole was not greater than the sum of it's parts.
— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) November 7, 2013
the guy on the subway beside me looks like a mix of Tom Hanks & Will Ferrell... this is creepy!
— Tatiana (@tatiiana) August 25, 2012
It was Tom Hanks RT @DoItTheRightRAE This white man in subway today was justa cheesing hard as hell while he was staring at my hair.
— KILLA B 808 (@KillBee808) August 15, 2012
Regardless, we can all be assured of one thing: Nathan Lane doesn't know what he's talking about.
It seems we all learn something new every day...every seat...Everyman...
Didn't know Tom Hanks rode the subway.
— Queen Elizabeth (@PrettyGirlBeMe) October 15, 2014
