Chet Hanks Says His Parents Didn’t Spoil Him Growing Up

Some of you may recognize Chet Hanks from shows like Shameless or Empire. Those who don’t probably associate him with anti-vaxx Instagram rants, cultural appropriation, and his father, who’s one of the most popular actors of all time.

Chet is the eldest son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, and the half brother of Fargo‘s Colin Hanks. He spoke at length about his experience growing up in a famous family in a new YouTube video, where he called fame “a double-edged sword” but explained how Tom and Rita made efforts to keep their kids grounded from a young age.

“I’m very blessed. I got to do a lot of cool shit that a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do. I got to travel the world, stay in nice hotels, fly in private planes,” said Chet, noting that he “wouldn’t change [his] situation for anything” and loves his parents. However, Chet said the perks of his upbringing came with certain challenges.

“On top of fame already being toxic, I wasn’t even famous, I was just the son of somebody famous, so I hadn’t even done anything to deserve any sort of recognition,” Chet shared. He admitted that while his dad was “beloved” and placed on “a pedestal,” people made assumptions about him, which “created a lot of contempt for me.”

“People automatically assumed in general that I would just be a really arrogant, entitled, spoiled brat, even though I really wasn’t,” he explained. “My parents didn’t spoil me, I was never given money or an allowance. I had to work and earn everything that I’ve made. It’s been that way for my entire life.”

“Growing up, if I needed money to go out and have fun with my friends, my dad would be like, ‘OK, you want some money? Go wash my car. I’ll give you 60 bucks.’ Everything was earned and I’m grateful for that.”

But public opinions still impacted him. “That defensive attitude, that chip on my shoulder, that posturing, led me down the wrong path, because I felt that I had something to prove,” Chet said. “It just led me down a path of self-destruction through my 20s.”

“Today I’m grateful. I’ve changed my life,” he added. “I’ve no longer gone down that self-destructive road, dealing with my anger and resentment by self-destructing, by pleasure-seeking, through partying, drugs, alcohol, substances, everything. Now I’m just focusing on doing the work and being the best me I can be.”