Tom Hanks has sent a typewriter to a boy who has been bullied because he’s called Corona.
The ‘Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ actor wrote a kind note to eight-year-old Corona De Vries after the young Australian sent him a letter when he and wife Rita Wilson fell ill with coronavirus last month.
In his letter, Corona wrote: "I heard on the news you and your wife had caught the coronavirus. Are you OK?
"I love my name but at school people call me ‘the coronavirus.’ I get very sad and angry when people call me this."
The 63-year-old star – who spent several weeks quarantining in Australia, where he was working on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic, when he fell ill – sent a letter replying to his new friend and also included a Corona-brand typewriter, which he’d used while recovering Down Under.
He wrote: "Dear Friend Corona, Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful! Thank you for being such a good friend – friends make friends feel good when they are down.
"You are the only person I’ve ever known to have the name Corona – like the ring around the sun, a crown.
"I saw you on TV, even though I was back in the USA already – and all healthy.
"Even though I was no longer sick, getting your letter made me feel even better.
"I thought this typewriter would suit you. I had taken it to the Gold Coast, and now, it is back – with you."
Tom – who famously has a huge collection of typewriters – urged Corona to continue their correspondence with the device.
He added: "Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back."
And the actor ended the letter with a reference to the theme to his movie ‘Toy Story’.
He wrote: "PS! You got a friend in ME!"
Tom Hanks’ gift for bullied boy
