Tom Hanks Is Completely Unrecognizable With New Look

These days, we think of Tom Hanks as America's dad. Some people even want him to run for office. The multi-award winner has a charming demeanor that makes you feel like you're grabbing dinner with your favorite uncle. Long before Hanks was the most calming presence in your life, though, he was a bona fide heartthrob. Don't believe us? It's true! Watch You've Got Mail or Sleepless in Seattle. Even in more recent projects like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, he still manages to look good.

While he might be the only guy to pull off a cardigan and high-waters, Hanks still struggled through 2020, just like the rest of us. He and his wife Rita Wilson were some of the first celebrities to contract the coronavirus way back in the spring of 2020. The pair quarantined together and spoke out publicly about the dangers of the disease.

His good looks, charming demeanor, and social activism have won Hanks a place in the heart of millions. Still, his devoted fans were shocked when a video surfaced in late 2020 of Hanks looking quite different. Read on to find out what brought on this surprising change and if we're ever going to get the old Hanks back.

Tom Hanks began 2021 just like he began 2020: in Australia with Baz Luhrmann. In March 2020, Hanks was down under working on an upcoming Elvis Presley biopic Elvis, which stars Austin Butler as the titular character. Hanks then contracted COVID-19 and had the quarantine. Due to COVID-19 restrictions making filming near impossible, production was put on hold until later in the year.

Well, in December 2020, Hanks Zoomed into The Graham Norton Show to discuss the new project, but ended up discussing a lot more: his new hair. "I am working on Baz Luhrmann's movie about Elvis Presley. Austin Butler is playing Elvis Presley," he told the talk show host. "And here, let me show you the horrible haircut I have to have in order to play Colonel Tom Parker," he said, removing his hat and revealing a truly shocking transformation.

Hanks' salt-and-pepper hair had been shaved from the top of his head, leaving only a small ring of hair around the sides of his head. "What I really want to do, is to have a little tuft of hair right here," Hanks joked, motioning to the top of his head, "and a big beard, and then everybody would think I'm Graham Norton," he added earning a laugh from the audience.

Hanks seems to be taking his newfound baldness in stride, but we're all praying his hair grows back.

Longtime fans of Tom Hanks, or anyone who has ever seen him, TBH,  couldn't get over his new look. After all, his floppy hair and youthful glow were once his most endearing qualities (again, see You've Got Mail). Fans did the only thing they could think of doing to express their absolute shock at his new, shall we say, minimalist haircut: they took to Twitter. "Just googled 'why is Tom Hanks bald?' for myself and my coworkers," wrote a surprised Graham Norton viewer, "These are important work questions."

Some fans were relieved the news wasn't worse, "I SAW TOM HANKS TRENDING AND GOT SCARED Turns out hes bald now" wrote a fan. Although there are certainly much worse things in life than going bald (especially for a big Hollywood paycheck), the new version of Hanks was still a little hard to swallow for some. "Tom Hanks is bald," wrote one particularly disgruntled fan "2021 is cursed." 

"Tom Hanks is so good at most things in life, but not bald," wrote another, responding to a CNN story about the actor's new look. You know what they say: Everyone's a critic.