Savannah Guthrie returns to 'Today' post-eye injury, interviews Golden Globes honoree Tom Hanks

Savannah Guthrie is back.

The "Today" show host, 48, returned Monday morning to her TV gig after a couple of months in and out of the studio with an eye injury. Guthrie is officially back in action after she spent the holidays at home recovering from retina surgery.

"When I say good to see you, I really mean it," Guthrie addressed viewers in the show's opening.

Co-host Hoda Kotb concurred: "It feels so good to have you sitting right here."

Guthrie later joked she was finally seeing "2020" in her first show in the new year with newly cleared vision. She had been in and out of the "Today" show since November, after her son, Charley, accidentally threw a toy train at her eye.

Previously: Savannah Guthrie likely to return to 'Today' after the holidays: I don't have my vision back yet

The host kicked off her return with a bang: She sat down in a pre-taped interview with Tom Hanks, who was honored Sunday night at the Golden Globes with the Cecile B. DeMille award. He opened up about his family life and legacy as Hollywood's nice guy.

"No. 1: I hope I'm not done," Hanks began, reflecting on his career highlights. He called acting "the greatest luck of the draw I ever had."

He also praised his wife, actress and singer Rita Wilson. The couple, parents to 29-year-old Chet and 24-year-old Truman Hanks, is gearing up to celebrate their 32nd anniversary this year. Hanks also has two children from his previous marriage to late actress Samantha Lewes: Colin, 42, and Elizabeth, 37.

"We dig each other, I must say," Hanks said of Wilson. "There was a moment long ago (with her) where I thought, 'You can actually feel like this?'"

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What advice would the actor give his younger self? "Calm down." Both the good and bad feelings about success will fade.

"The gutsiest thing sometimes is to say no to something," he said, adding it can be tough when a project offers "a lot of money, you might get to travel somewhere; ... they might infantilize you the way they sometimes do with actors. ... But if it doesn't break your heart, if it doesn't make you think about something bigger, you have to say no. That's hard to do sometimes."

Guthrie wondered how Hanks, already a Hollywood legend, wants to be remembered at the end of his life. Known to fans as "America's dad," Hanks said he liked the idea of people thinking of him as "kind." But he isn't a big fan of the word "nice."

"You know what nice is? Nice is the meal you had at not a bad restaurant, but not a great restaurant," he said with a laugh. "No, I want something better than that. So maybe that's the epitaph: 'He was fantastic.'"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Savannah Guthrie back on 'Today' with Golden Globes honoree Tom Hanks