ARCHIVE | Tom Hanks' Brutal Self-Roast at Harvard: “I Make a Good Living Playing Someone Who Did”

Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @apt_news   On May 25, 2023, actor Tom Hanks delivered the Harvard Commencement Address to the graduating Class of 2023, blending humor, storytelling, and reflection on civic responsibility. Opening with a self-deprecating “self-roast,” Hanks jokes about having no real academic connection to Harvard, noting he never attended classes or spent time in its libraries, yet “makes a good living playing someone who did.” From there, he transitions into a broader meditation on society, citizenship, and shared responsibility. A central theme of the speech is the idea that there are no real-life superheroes to fix the world’s problems. Instead, Hanks emphasized that ordinary people must take responsibility for shaping society through everyday actions, from respecting others and following the law to voting and participating in civic life. He also warned about the growing erosion of objective truth, highlighting how misinformation, manufactured narratives, and cynicism can distort reality. Closing his speech, Hanks urged graduates to choose engagement over indifference and to commit to building a more just and inclusive society. He ended by reminding them that, despite differences, all people are “uniquely, magnificently, simply human.” #TomHanks #Harvard #CommencementSpeech #Graduation2023 #Harvard2023 #MotivationalSpeech #Inspiration #Truth #Democracy #CivicDuty #Education #UniversitySpeech #ViralSpeech