Thomas Rhett Gushes Over Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson at Kennedy Center Honors

Thomas Rhett went from celebrity to fan at the recent Kennedy Center Honors ceremony. The singer, who was at the event to perform as part of a tribute to Sesame Street, gushed over meeting Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, backstage, sharing a photo of him with the famous couple on social media.

“Amazing getting to meet these two,” Rhett wrote.

Rhett’s post earned plenty of reactions, including from some of his fellow celebrity friends.

“SCHWATTTTTTT?” Russell Dickerson wrote.

Brett Young quipped, “Tom sandwich.”

Diplo added, “Tom Hanks coolest person in the world.”

Rhett, who appeared on a previous episode of Sesame Street earlier this year, sang an original song, “This is my Street, Sesame Street,” with Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Grover and Big Bird. Rhett wasn’t the only country artist to appear at the iconic ceremony. Carrie Underwood also took the stage, performing “Blue Bayou” and “When Will I Be Loved” in tribute to Linda Rondstadt.

Rhett might have been starstruck by Hanks and Wilson, but he might have also asked them a few questions. The “Remember You Young” singer admits he would be interested in parlaying his fame into acting, at least for small roles.

“This year will be the first time that I’m gonna try to start delving into a little bit more getting behind the camera,” Rhett teased. “And I don’t think I want to be like an ‘actor’ actor, but I think it would be pretty fun to be in a few scenes in a big movie or something like that.”

The 29-year-old has no plans of dropping his music career, but acknowledges that acting is something that has intrigued him for some time.

“Even from a young age, me and my sister used to write little skits and my dad would film us acting out these scenes,” Rhett shared with his record label. “And I’ve always loved being behind the camera, but acting, that is not a joke. I’ve done a little bit of it here and there, like in music videos, and I’ve guested on The Ranch with Ashton Kutcher on Netflix.

“It’s easy to get into a room and try to pretend that you’re somebody else in a song, but when you’re trying to pretend like you’re somebody else and act it, that is a whole different ballgame,” he added. “But I would love to at least take some lessons and dive into it and see what the future held.”

In addition to Ronstadt and Sesame Street, other Kennedy Center honorees included Sally Field, Earth Wind & Fire, and San Francisco founder Michael Tilson Thomas.

Photo Credit: Getty / Image Group LA