WILSON!!! One of the most emotional moments in Cast Away finds Tom Hanks crying out in grief as his beloved desert-island companion Wilson the volleyball drifts away in the water. But the opening Cleveland Guardians home game on Friday proved to be a place for healing as the actor reunited with his iconic costar to throw out the first pitch.
Hanks set Wilson down on the field beside him during the opening home game as he prepared for the toss. But the volleyball had plans of its own, repeatedly rolling away on the field and disrupting Hanks before he could carry out the play.
“There goes Wilson,” an announcer observed before Hanks reined the ball back in… only for it to roll even farther away.
Jason Miller/Getty Tom Hanks reunited with his ‘Cast Away’ costar Wilson the volleyball at a Cleveland Guardians game.
“Maybe it’s remote-controlled,” another commentator noted, realizing the humorous moment was a staged gag.
Eventually, the star tossed the first pitch to Harry Doby Jr., the son of Larry Doby, the first Black player in the American League. The event took place on the 75th anniversary of Doby’s milestone, and Wilson was literally on hand to mark the occasion.
A Robert Zemeckis tearjerker, Cast Away centers on Chuck Noland (Hanks), a FedEx executive whose plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean, leaving him stranded on a deserted island. Severed from all human contact, he relies on his handmade volleyball friend for comfort.
Wilson has enjoyed an illustrious career since the drama’s release in 2000, making guest appearances on Saturday Night Live and Family Guy.
The actor’s connection to Cleveland goes back to 1977, when he served as an intern at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival and first earned his Actor’s Equity Card as part of the event. He has been a vocal supporter of the city’s baseball team ever since, and last July he narrated a video announcing the team’s name change from the Indians to the Guardians.
“I’ve had Guardians fever since 1977, when I caught my first game in Section 19 of Cleveland’s Lakefront Municipal Stadium,” Hanks said in a press release at the time. “I’m honored to return to Cleveland and Progressive Field for the first home game of the Cleveland Guardians era.”
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