Two-time Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks received an honorary doctor of arts degree from Harvard University and delivered a commencement address to graduating students in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Thursday.
The legendary actor joked that he had received the degree ‘without having done a lick of work, without having spent any time in class, without once walking into that library.’
‘I don't know much about Latin, I have no real passion for enzymes, and public global policy is something I scan in the newspaper just before I do the Wordle,’ he joked.
He urged students to stand up against the ‘indifference of a people who have been made weary by struggle’.
‘Indifference makes citizens into indentured servants held in labor by the despots and tyrants whose default setting is cynicism, who outlawed dissent and ban art and dialogue and books,’ Hanks said.
Harvard also gave Tom Hanks a Harvard-branded volleyball in reference to his 2000 movie ‘Cast Away’.
Harvard University announced the ‘Forest Grump’ star as its ‘esteemed commencement speaker for the year 2023’ in March. University President Larry Bacow expressed his admiration for the actor, stating that he has made significant contributions to our national culture and has played a vital role in broadening our understanding of untold stories and histories.
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