Tom Hanks makes surprise appearance during virtual graduation ceremony

Tom Hanks shared an empowering message with graduating students from Wright State University on Sunday.

Officials at the Ohio college held a virtual commencement ceremony after the coronavirus pandemic halted plans for the usual graduation bash, but Hanks - who battled Covid-19 himself - made sure the day was a success by showing up on video to speak to the students.

"You are the chosen ones because of a fate unimagined when you began your Wright State adventures," he said. "You started in the olden times, in a world back before the Great Pandemic of 2020. You will talk of those earlier years in your lives in just that way.

"You will be enlightened in ways your degree from Wright State never held in promise. You will have made it through a time of great sacrifice and great need. And no one will be more fresh to the task of restarting our normalcy than you - our chosen ones."

Tom has strong ties to the college - back in 2016, he was honoured with the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures at the university.

And he's not the only star inspiring students with virtual commencement speeches. Ryan Reynolds also spoke to the Class of 2020 from his alma mater, Kitsilano Secondary School in Vancouver, Canada and gifted every student a free large pizza from his favourite local pizza spot.