Why Tom Hanks Was Denied Beer at Country Music Festival Stagecoach

Tom Hanks was not allowed to buy a beer at a country music festival, he revealed in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Hanks attended the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California, he explained to DeGeneres a few weeks ago. The actor was there to support his wife, Rita Wilson, who was performing at the venue, and also to enjoy the country music and the festivities.

Hanks went out looking for a place to buy beer at the festival, but the vendors he came across turned him away.

“It was during the day, and… Well, I wanted to have a beer. I wanted to have a nice tasty bucket of sudz,” he joked. “I went to the place where you get the beer from, and there were four ladies who were serving up, and I stood up and said ‘pull me a draw!’”

“They said ‘we can’t, because your ID has not been verified,’” Hanks continued in his gregarious manner. “I’m so confused! It says ‘beer for sale’ here, and I’ve come to ask for a beer, and you’re not going to give one because, what, you think I’m underage?!”

At the time, Hanks was wearing a massive grey beard for a role he was playing, as he showed in photos. He felt with that, combined with his relative fame as a movie star, should have entitled him to an automatic ID verification.

“I said ‘I’m 62 years old, and you know my name! So I think I should be able to get a beer!’”

Hanks was given the run around even then. The vendors sent him to another booth where festival organizers verified customer IDs to make sure no one underage could use a fake card. Not wanting to go through all the hassle for one cold drink, Hanks tried another tactic.

“I must give credit to these ladies, they did not cave,” he said. “I was offering them tickets to stuff! ‘You will come to the Toy Story premiere with me! Just go like that with a red solo cup underneath and let me walk away with a beer!’ They would not have it.”

DeGeneres tried to commend Hanks on being “nice” and not arguing, but Hanks admitted that was not the case. He said that he “argued with them for 20 minutes,” even calling on the manager and another supervisor after that. Eventually, Hanks got his beer in hand, and he said that he “chugged” it.

Hanks is reprising one of his most beloved roles, the cowboy doll Woody, in Toy Story 4 later this month. The movie comes out on Thursday, June 20 in theaters everywhere.