As it turns out, Tom Hanks may have been the only person sober at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival this year – but that’s only because no one would serve the legendary actor a damn beer!
The actor told the story on Ellen Wednesday. He explains that he was in Indio watching his wife, singer and songwriter Rita Wilson, perform during the weekend and he was doing it sober.
“There were four ladies who were serving up and I stood up and I said, ‘Pull me a draw!’” Hanks explained. “And they said, ‘We can’t because your ID has not been verified.’ And I said, ‘Okay, I’m so confused because it says ‘Beer For Sale Here’ and I’ve come to ask for a beer, and you’re not going to give [me] one because you think I’m underage?'”
And just a reminder, Hanks had a thick, white beard at Stagecoach, but that was not enough to verify the man’s age:
“I said ‘I’m 62 years old and you know my name, so I think I should be able to get a beer.’” Hanks remembers. “They said, ‘No, you have to go. Somewhere over there is a stand where you give them your ID and you verify that you’re old enough to have a beer.’”
Hanks the stated that he had to “give credit to these ladies” since “they did not cave” – even after he offered them Toy Story 4 tickets, which I would have gladly taken.
“I said, ‘You will come to the Toy Story premiere with me!” he recounted. “Just go like that with a red solo cup underneath and let me walk away with a beer!’ And they would not allow it.”
And while Ellen Degeneres and Hanks both say that the policy is “ridiculous,” those who have been to Stagecoach know that there is an ID check is like five steps away from every beer vendor. Then again, when you are freakin’ Tom Hanks, you probably never actually need an ID for anything since your freakin’ Tom Hanks.
Watch (the Stagecoach story starts at 3:05):
