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Tom Hanks Befriends Cab Driver, Invites Him to Broadway Show: Touching Story

Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks invited his cab driver to his Broadway show Lucky Guy in 2013.

Anything’s possible in a cab ride in New York City! One taxi driver got the surprise of his life in 2013 when he unknowingly picked up Tom Hanks in his car. His story was posted on the popular Humans of New York blog on Monday, Oct. 27, and quickly went viral.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebs' first Oscars appearances

As the driver tells it, Mr. Hanks got into the car when he was nearing the end of his shift. In fact, the man rejected the two-time Oscar winner, 58, at first because his destination was too far away. Eventually he called Hanks back “‘cause hey — I got a conscience,” and the actor excitedly entered the cab. 

Though the star kept his cap on, the driver quickly recognized Hanks’ voice. 

“I turn to him, and I look him in the eye, and I scream: ’WIIIIIIILLLSSSSSOOOOOOON!!!’ And that really got him. He started laughing hard,” the driver recalled. Hanks was in town starring in the Nora Ephron play Lucky Guy, which had a limited engagement on Broadway from April to July 2013. 

Tom Hanks in the Lucky Guy
Tom Hanks starred in Lucky Guy from April to July 2013.

Noting that his cabbie was wearing a Ferrari hat and T-shirt, Hanks quickly took to calling him “Mr. Ferrari.” Eventually, the driver dropped him off and snapped a quick selfie. But the story didn’t end there. 

Related: PHOTOS: Stars at the 2013 Tony Awards

Over the course of the next few weeks, Mr. Ferrari happened to pick up several people who knew the actor, each time he told them to tell Hanks “Mr. Ferrari says ‘hello.’” A while later, he received a text from one of the acquaintances saying Hanks had invited him to his Broadway show. 

“So I bring my lady to the show, and we get to go backstage and everything, and after the show, we’re waiting for him in his dressing room, and he walks in and screams: ‘Mr. Ferrari!’ Can you believe that story?” the driver asked Humans of New York blogger Brandon Stanton. “And you wanna know the craziest thing? The name of his show was ‘Lucky Guy.’ How crazy is that? Cause that was me. A lucky guy!”

Related: PHOTOS: Tom Hanks and other stars in drag

Since the story went up on the HONY page, which has more than 10 million followers, the driver has created his own Facebook fan page. On it, he’s posted pictures with celebrities, including Hanks, Bono, Hoda Kotb, Christopher McDonald, Anderson Cooper, Brian Williams, Liv Tyler, former governor Eliot Spitzer, and a man who “looks like” Snoop Dogg

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