- By Kathryn Armstrong
- BBC News
1 hour ago
Actor Tom Hanks has told Harvard University graduates in the US that “the truth is sacred” and urged them to fight for its defense.
The two-time Academy Award winner was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the prestigious graduate institution.
He himself received an honorary doctorate in the arts.
“For some, the truth is no longer empirical,” he told an audience of more than 9,000 people.
“It’s not based on data, it’s not based on common sense, it’s not even based on common sense.”
Telling the truth is no longer the standard of public service, he said.
“Truth is now believed to be malleable through zero-sum endgames.”
Hanks also told graduates they had a choice to be one of “one of three types of Americans: those who advocate freedom and liberty for all, those who don’t want it, or those who are indifferent.”
But he said the responsibility to uphold the truth rests with everyone.
“The effort is optional. But the truth, the truth is sacred. immutable. Carved in stone and the foundation of our republic.”
The 66-year-old’s speech wasn’t without lighter moments as he joked about his lack of academic credentials.
“I don’t know much about Latin, I don’t really have a passion for enzymes, and world public affairs is something I cover in the newspaper before I do the Wordle,” he said, referring to the popular web-based game.
Hanks urged graduates not to be “bitter” that he received a degree “without doing a little work, without spending time in class, without even stepping into the library.” .
But he made a “damn good living playing someone who did it,” he added, referring to fictional Harvard professor Robert Langdon, whom he portrayed in the films The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons” and “Inferno” played.
“It’s the way of the world, kids,” he said while his audience laughed.
Hanks, one of six people who received honorary doctorates Thursday, also received a Harvard volleyball in a nod to one of his most famous roles in the movie Cast Away.