Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Share the Secret to Being Good Grandparents: 'Make Macaroni and Cheese Perfectly'

The Hollywood power couple has three granddaughters, giving them plenty of practice

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have achieved major success in Hollywood — and now they have their sights set on being award-winning grandparents.

The couple recently shared some of their secrets to being the coolest grandparents around. “All you gotta do is love those little brats and they’re better than TV,” Hanks, 66, told Entertainment Tonight at Tuesday's New York City premiere of Asteroid City, quickly adding, “They’re not little brats, they’re extraordinary young women. They are extraordinary young women.”

Hanks and Wilson, 66, have enjoyed a large blended family for 35 years. Hanks is dad to fellow actor Colin Hanks, 45, and daughter Elizabeth Hanks, 41, from his nearly 10-year marriage to the late actress Samathan Lewe. Hanks and Wilson, who married in 1988, share two children, sons Chet, 32, and Truman, 27. They have three grandchildren: Colin’s two daughters, Olivia, 12, and Charlotte, 9, and Chet’s daughter, Michaiah, 7.

Now that they've got plenty of grandparenting experience under their belts, the couple is sharing the tips and secrets that make them popular with their grandkids. Wilson evidently likes to spend time outdoors getting active with the three young girls.

Related: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson's Relationship Timeline

“You got to get on the trampoline with them, you got to get in the pool with them, you got to get on the tennis court, you got to do all the sports,” she told ET. “You just got to hang out.”

Her Oscar winner husband, meanwhile, likes to score his good grandfather points by honing his culinary skills in the kitchen. "You have make their macaroni and cheese just perfectly,” the Forrest Gump star said with a laugh.

Related: Tom Hanks' Family Say They're Calling Him 'Doctor' After Harvard Honorary Degree (Exclusive)

In 2019, Hanks shared his thoughts on family life and becoming a father as a young man. "My son Colin was born when I was very young. As well as my daughter," Hanks told The New York Times ahead of the premiere of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. "They remember when their dad was just a guy trying to, you know, make the rent. My other kids, they were born after I had established a beachhead in every way. And so their lives were just different."

Hanks also touched on his parenting philosophy, telling the Times, "Somewhere along the line, I figured out, the only thing ... a parent can do is say, 'I love you, there's nothing you can do wrong, you cannot hurt my feelings, I hope you will forgive me on occasion and what do you need me to do?' You offer up that to them: 'I will do anything I can possibly do in order to keep you safe.' That's it. Offer that up and then just love them."

All four of his kids — plus Colin's wife, Samantha Bryant, whom Hanks thinks of "as a daughter" — were present to watch their father accept the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille award at the 2020 Golden Globes, and Hanks got emotional talking about his family during his speech.

Related: Rita Wilson Says Slowing Down Her Career When Her Kids Were Young Wasn't a 'Sacrifice but a Choice'

"A man is blessed with a family sitting down front like that," he said. "A wife who is fantastic in every way, who has taught me what love is. Five kids who are braver, stronger, and wiser than their old man is, a loving group of people who have put [up] with me being away for months and months and months at a time. ... I can't tell you how much your love means to me."

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