With his latest role, Chet Hanks got to explore some art imitating life.
The Running Point actor, who is the son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, recently revealed he was prepared to “quit acting” if he didn’t get the role of basketball bad boy Travis Bugg on the Netflix sports comedy series from Mindy Kaling.
“It was just uncanny—it’s almost like it was written for me, but it wasn’t,” Hanks told Esquire. “So I basically get to be a slightly exaggerated version of myself.”
Three years sober, he also related to Travis’ addiction struggle in the series, which was co-created by Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen and Elaine Ko.
“That’s just great writing, and I’m glad that they allowed the opportunity to give their character more depth,” added Hanks. “But it’s exciting. I’ve always noticed art imitating life in a lot of the projects that I do, and I never think it’s intentional. I honestly think it’s just the harmonization of the universe. I’m grateful for it, and it’s always helpful when you can relate personally to whatever is happening with your character.”
Scott MacArthur, Dane DiLiegro, Jay Ellis, Brenda Song, Max Greenfield, Kate Hudson, Chet Hanks, Justin Theroux, Fabrizio Guido, Scott Evans, Drew Tarver, Uche Agada and Toby Sandeman attend the premiere of Netflix’s ‘Running Point’ on Feb. 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Amy Sussman/WireImage)
Recalling the character description called for “a white guy, covered in tattoos, a wannabe rapper, and a huge liability because of what he posts on social media,” Hanks said Kaling and her team were “a little unsure” about casting him.
“They knew that I was great for the role, but in real life they were a little worried about casting me for the reasons that I just described in the character,” he explained.
“So they had a Zoom call with me and were like, ‘Look, we want to give you this role, but we just want to make sure you don’t do anything or post anything crazy,’” added Hanks. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, I won’t. A hundred percent. I got you. But you’ve got to admit, it’s kind of funny that this is a life-imitating-art situation. You guys are worried about the same things that the powers that be are worried about this character.’”
Inspired by Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss, Running Point stars Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon, who is saddled with taking over the family’s NBA team, the Los Angeles Waves. Among her many obstacles in Season 1, now available to stream on Netflix, is the problematic point guard Travis.
Noting he’s been acting since he was 16, Hanks has also appeared in Bratz (2007), Project X (2012) and Fantastic Four (2015), as well as episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Shameless, Empire and Atlanta. He’s also appeared alongside his father in Larry Crowne (2011) and Greyhound (2020).
