Tom Hanks cheers on Aston Villa as they look to lock down Champions League place against Liverpool… but why does the A-Lister support the English soccer team?

Hollywood star Tom Hanks is in Birmingham for the final home game of the season at Villa Park to watch his beloved Aston Villa take on Liverpool.

In a video taken before the game, Hanks said he was looking forward to the game as he “celebrated the second-to-last game” of the season.

It was an exciting match at the start, with Villa goalkeeper Emi Martínez putting the ball into his own goal to put Liverpool up 1-0.

But a response from Youri Tielemans tied the game and knocked Hanks out of his seat, and cameras caught him applauding the effort.

The most intense drama was yet to come as Villa came back from 3-1 down to 3-3, thanks to two dramatic late goals from Jhon Durán. Hanks looked visibly stunned and in disbelief when Villa equalized in the final moments of the game.

Hanks filmed a video of himself at Villa Park where he was ‘celebrating the second to last game’

A goal from Youri Tielemans in the first half had Hanks rising from his seat and applauding the effort.

Hanks has been a long-time Aston Villa fan, as he explained in 2019 on a 2019 episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, with the British comedian baffled why the A-Lister would support what he called a “dark team”.

“I don’t think Aston Villa are an unknown team at all, claret and blue,” Hanks replied. But this is what happened. When I first came to the UK I was young and suffered from jet lag.

“So I jumped out of bed on my first morning in London, opened the curtains and looked outside. It was June. What a beautiful day in London! Where is everybody? There was not a soul in the park, on the street. Then I realized it was ten past five in the morning because the sun was rising.

‘There was nothing to do except turn on the BBC and watch the football results. I didn’t understand where any of these towns were. These clubs that were… Swansea 6, Stoke City 0; Blackfoot 5 Tottenham in Twixby 3… I didn’t know where any of these teams were. Then one appeared and said ‘Aston Villa 2…’

‘And I thought ‘Aston Villa’, what a beautiful holiday spot! Aston Villa… It’s a beautiful villa, you open the French doors and below you have the beautiful port of Aston.

And it turns out it’s in Birmingham. There’s nothing wrong with that, there’s nothing wrong with Birmingham. But it is not a town for happy people, I assure you. So since then I have been a loyal Aston Villa fan. I saw them play once, a friendly in the United States, so yes, I support them.”