Tom Hanks sends Liverpool message as Hollywood star spotted at Aston Villa

It’s not too often you see Hollywood stars turning up at Premier League games. Tom Hanks was therefore a surprise guest as Liverpool took on Aston Villa on Monday.

Considering the Reds are one of the world’s biggest clubs, and have grown in popularity in the United States, you might have expected the Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan star to have been at Villa Park to support Jürgen Klopp’s side. Instead, it was the hosts that Hanks had turned up for.

The two-time Oscar winner is a self-proclaimed Villa fan, having started supporting them after a previous visit to the UK. He has appeared at games in the past, and was in attendance to see his side come back from 3-1 down to rescue a point against Liverpool.

READ MORE: Jürgen Klopp names moment that 'opened the door' to Liverpool collapse as two players at fault

READ MORE: 'I ignored my producer as I didn't want to back down to Jürgen Klopp during fiery interview'

Ahead of the game, he spoke about the problems he has following Villa stateside, while seemingly taking a subtle dig at Liverpool.

"One of the problems of being in the United States of America, every time you read the football media you always find those other teams,” Hanks said. “I'm looking for a story on Villa and you get those two Manchester teams and the ones that are in red. But more and more you're starting to see stories on Villa."

Hanks added: “I was here a year ago for the first time and it was a magical thing. Whenever I’m in the UK, I always check my schedule to see if I can make it to Villa Park and it worked out that I can watch Villa make history tonight. Up the Villa!”

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool will obviously be one of those teams in red that Hanks is talking about. To be fair, there are probably a lot more Liverpool fans in the US than Aston Villa supporters, so they’ll obviously get more coverage!

Villa should get a bit more attention next season though, with Unai Emery set to take them into the Champions League. Hanks might fancy a trip to the Bernabéu or Camp Nou if his side comes up against one of the big boys!