Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, ‘Game of Thrones’ stars among celebrities directly impacted by the coronavirus

Written by on March 23, 2020

Since Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson revealed they tested positive for the virus that’s been declared a global pandemic, other celebrities have explained how they’re being affected by it, too.

Here’s the latest, which we’ll update regularly:

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

Status: Tested positive

The beloved actor and his actress wife announced March 12 that they had tested positive for the virus following an outbreak on the Australian set of director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis Presley biopic. At the time, Hanks said they were staying in isolation. People reported on March 16 that the two had left a Queensland hospital but continued staying separated from others at a rented home nearby.

Baz Luhrmann

Status: Self-quarantine

The director and his family, including a wife and two teenage children, have stayed at a home in Australia rented by the studio behind the film he was working on when one of his lead actors, Tom Hanks, fell ill.

Matthew Broderick’s sister, Janet Broderick

Status: Tested positive

While the Election star was healthy, his sister, the rector of an Episcopal church in Beverly Hills, Calif., was diagnosed with the virus. However, the actor told Deadline on March 14 that Janet’s condition had improved.

“My entire family is grateful for the concern about, and the well wishes for, my sister Janet,” he said. “I’m happy to say she is feeling much better and is on the road to a full recovery. We are all very appreciative for the wonderful care she received from the amazing doctors and nurses at Cedars Sinai.”

Olga Kurylenko

Status: Tested positive

The “Bond girl” in 2008’s Quantum of Solace urged others to take the threat of the illness seriously, as she said March 15 that she had tested positive.

Heidi Klum

Status: Self-quarantine

The America’s Got Talent star said she and her husband, musician Tom Kaulitz, were both feeling ill and are staying away from others, including each other, while awaiting the results of the COVID-19 tests they had “finally” been able to secure in a post dated March 15. Kaulitz has since tested negative.

Idris Elba

Status: Tested positive

When the Luther star revealed March 16 that he tested positive, he said that he’d not experienced any symptoms. “No panic,” he advised. On March 21, it was revealed that his wife, Sabrina Dhowre, had also tested positive.

Seth Doane

Status: Tested positive

The CBS News foreign correspondent’s March 16 report on CBS This Morning was an update on his own health: Doane had tested positive for COVID-19, which he’d taken after noticing he had “a little bit of a cough.” He said that, so far, he’d had colds that felt worse. He said the psychological part had been the worst of it so far. He remained in lockdown at his residence in Rome, staying isolated even from his husband.

I tested positive for #COVID19 – got the results Saturday night. Andrea tested negative – but it may be a false negative because he might’ve gotten the test too early. He has the same symptoms – tightness/pressure in chest, cough… I’ve had a very light fever – but only once or twice. So far, so good – these symptoms are manageable – I’m lucky. We’ve been in strict quarantine since I learned I’d been exposed to confirmed positive cases. I’m going live on @cbsthismorning at 7:30 today to discuss this. It’s vital people know if they have coronavirus and it’s key that anyone they came into contact with goes into quarantine. We have to stop the community spread of this. I’m trying to be open with this to try to increase awareness, encourage dialogue.. and stop the spread of this terrible virus. I’m not thrilled about talking about this publicly but I think it’s important. Thanks for all the ❤️ we’ve felt from family and friends. (Italian health authorities – pictured here coming to test us at home – have been incredible and are calling twice a day to check symptoms) 🇮🇹 ❤

“This is not what I want to be discussing on TV. This is not what I want to be known for,” Doane told viewers. “I am trying to be public and open because I think it is vital that we stop the spread of this thing.”

In all, six CBS News employees have been diagnosed with the virus, host Gayle King said.

Al Roker

Status: Self-quarantine

After a staffer at Today tested positive for the virus, the longtime host sat out the show March 16 “out of an abundance of caution,” Savannah Guthrie told viewers.

Roker posted an update Monday afternoon telling fans he was self-isolating for 15 days.

Out for a quick breath of fresh air with Nick @debrobertsabc and back inside. One  our @3rdhourtoday producers tested positive for #covid_19 so we’re #selfisolating for #15days No symptoms. Thoughts and prayers for those suffering, #healthcareprofessionals and #firstresponders

Craig Melvin

Status: Acting “out of an abundance of caution”

Just like Al Roker, the Today host skipped the March 16 show after an unidentified colleague was said to have the virus. Melvin assured fans that he was “feeling great.”

Feeling great this am. Thinking about our friend and colleague. Thinking about everyone grappling with this right now. I’ll be fine. So will we.

Kristofer Hivju

Status: Tested positive

The Norway production of Netflix’s The Witcher shut down following the news that one of its stars was infected. Hivju, best known as Game of Thrones fan favorite Tormund Giantsbane, said he and his family were “self-isolating at home for as long as it takes.” He described his symptoms as “mild,” like a cold.

Greetings from Norway! Sorry to say that I, today, have tested positive for COVID19, Corona virus. My familiy and I are self-isolating at home for as long as it takes. We are in good health – I only have mild symptoms of a cold. There are people at higher risk for who this virus might be a devastating diagnosis, so I urge all of you to be extremely careful; wash your hands, keep 1,5 meters distance from others, go in quarantine; just do everything you can to stop the virus from spreading. Together we can fight this virus and avert a crisis at our hospitals. Please take care of each other, keep your distance, and stay healthy! Please visit your country’s Center for Disease Control’s website, and follow the regulations for staying safe and protecting not just yourselves, but our entire community, and especially those at risk like the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.

Kris Jenner

Status: Tested negative

Jenner took a test for the coronavirus after she attended a birthday party for Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge, who’s since been hospitalized with the illness. “Kris wasn’t sick and didn’t have any symptoms, but since she was in contact with someone who tested positive, she took the test,” a source told ET. “Jenner luckily tested negative for coronavirus.”

David Higgs

Status: Tested positive

The L.A.-based photographer said doctors gave him the test after they found he didn’t have the flu. “I don’t know where I got it. I don’t know how I got it,” Higgs told his followers on March 15. “If you are feeling sick, straight away just quarantine yourself.”

Today, I tested positive for Corona Virus, after getting tested 2 days ago, here’s my story, some information.

Destin Daniel Cretton

Status: Tested negative

The director of the upcoming live-action adaptation of Marvel’s Shang-Chi has a newborn baby boy, and he was thinking of him when he went into self-quarantine on March 12. Marvel and Disney subsequently shut down production on the movie entirely. On March 16, Cretton said he’d taken a test for the coronavirus after learning that he had been in “close proximity with some people who had potentially been exposed,” but he’d tested negative. “But I will continue to be even more careful in the days ahead. Because if you believe in good science, and I do, we still have a mountain to climb together,” Cretton said.

Rachel Matthews

Status: Tested positive

“Hey guys, I tested positive for COVID-19 and have been in quarantine the last week,” Matthews, who provided the voice of Honeymaren in Frozen 2revealed March 16 on InstagramStories. She said she was feeling better but would remain in quarantine until she was told to do otherwise. Matthews also shared her symptoms, which she said she hoped some found helpful.

Arielle Charnas

Status: Tested positive

The influencer reported March 17 that she had been very ill for several days, but she said she planned to continue focusing her social media channels on the things that made her happy. “Each day the symptoms evolve into something else and while I can’t imagine how I’d ever catch coronavirus (from what I know I haven’t been in contact with anyone who has it) I’m dealing with the weirdest virus I’ve ever had since mono,” Charnas said.

It’s been 4 days since I started feeling incredibly sick. Each day the symptoms evolve into something else and while I can’t imagine how I’d ever catch coronavirus (from what I know I haven’t been in contact with anyone who has it) I’m dealing with the weirdest virus I’ve ever had since mono. I’m so happy my fever is gone but the body pain that I’m feeling today is unlike anything else. It feels like we’re all in a bad dream right now but I’m determined to bring back some normalcy to our lives. This is the last time I’m going to talk about feeling sick right now on my Instagram and move on to the things that make me happy, like my kids, family life, fashion and work. If it offends anyone or seems as though I’m being insensitive during this time, I’m sorry but it’s what I’ve chosen to do. Back to regular content/programming. Can’t wait to post my partnerships and my outfits from inside my apt every day. I promise they will be better than this one 🤣 – love you all, stay home and stay healthy!

Andrew Watt

Status: Tested positive

On March 17, Watt explained to fans that he’d woken up 11 days earlier feeling like he’d been “hit by a bus,” and that he couldn’t move out of bed for days. He said a doctor who came to his house told him he couldn’t have the coronavirus because he had tested positive for the flu. However, a second doctor who came to his home administered a test and confirmed that he did, in fact, have COVID-19. While Watt said his own condition was improving, he urged others to take the threat seriously. “This is not a joke,” he said. “Stay safe, stay sanitized.”

Diplo

Status: Self-quarantine

The musician, whose real name is Thomas Pentz, said he was staying away from his two young sons — although he missed them terribly — because he had been in contact with hundreds of people in recent days. “I’m staying away from the house until I am cleared of the virus,” Diplo said.

My son’s are too young to understand the complexities of what’s happening. But they aren’t anxious and nervous like the rest of us. They live in a house with their grandmother who is the most vulnerable. I have been in contact with hundreds of people in the past four weeks… And I’m staying away from the house until I am cleared of the virus. This hurts because I miss them so much they are what makes me wake up every day and live and breath, they are my ultimate joy, but this is my sacrifice to make sure everyone around me is safe.. I haven’t had this much time home in years, and I wanted to build Legos and watch movies with them.. But for now im just going to stay by the window and listen to them play drums and sing for me .. Think about others in every decision you make in the coming weeks. This isn’t A drill.. We already have enough news from Italy Iran Korea and China about the best ways to slow this.. We need to be smart, going out and interacting with groups is canceled, but kindess is not canceled, Love is not canceled, empathy is not canceled. Happiness is not canceled… Stay strong for the ones who can’t right now

Sarah Hyland

Staus: Self-quarantine

If you want to find the Modern Family actress during the epidemic, then look for her at home. As she said on the March 18 episode of the Brad Behavior podcast, she’s only leaving for doctor’s appointments, when she wears a mask and gloves. “I am obviously immunocompromised with my transplant history and am on immunosuppressants, so everything in this house is sanitized,” she said, per People. Hyland noted that the virus is “really dangerous” for immunocompromised people like herself.

Savannah Guthrie

Status: Self-quarantine

After the Today host experienced a sore throat and a runny nose, she made the decision to stay home, and she even broadcast NBC’s popular morning show from there on March 18. Guthrie said she was following the advice of the doctors at the network, as well as her bosses. However, she assured viewers that she felt “good” and was acting “in an abundance of caution.”

Mark Wahlberg reflects on criminal past: ‘I made a lot of terrible mistakes and I paid for those mistakes dearly’

Mark Wahlberg may be one of the biggest names on the big screen, but the Spenser: Confidential star, 48, says he doesn’t have all that much to do with Hollywood.

“I’m so out of the loop with Hollywood,” the actor told the Guardian in a revealing new interview. “Other than working, I go to the supermarket. I don’t go to dinner parties on the scene, or screenings. I live in Beverly Hills, but it could easily be the English countryside, because I don’t see anyone and I don’t do anything. I don’t go to awards unless I have a movie in them. I go to bed early, I get up early, I take my kids to school and I’m with my wife if I’m not I’m working.”

It’s a far cry from Wahlberg’s tumultuous upbringing in Boston, where the youngest of nine kids dealt with a challenging life both at home and outside.

“When I walked out my door — violence is also all that was there,” said Wahlberg, adding that he was “always in trouble, and I was kind of little. In the circumstances where I was being preyed upon, at times, I had to protect and defend myself. It’s not an easy thing to navigate as a teenage kid who’s 5’2, 120 pounds, with grown men.”

Wahlberg recognizes that he made some tragic mistakes during his youth. He found himself incarcerated after attacking a man while high on drugs in 1988, serving 45 days out of a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to felony assault.

“I made a lot of terrible mistakes and I paid for those mistakes dearly,” said Wahlberg, who decided to overhaul his life and “do the work.”

“I took it upon myself to own up to my mistakes and go against the grain and not be a part of the gang any more — to say that I was going to go and do my own thing,” he said. “Which made it 10 times more difficult to walk from my home to the train station, to go to school, to go to work.”

Determined to “do the right thing,” Wahlberg embraced his second chance in life. Now, he channels his own experiences into his work.

“I do think the one thing I have to my advantage is that I have all this real-life experience that I can apply to my work,” he added. “I think audiences can definitely sense authenticity. But that came with a real price.”

Despite his teenage wiles, Mark says his four children aren’t that interested in hearing about their dad’s past. They “make fun of it, like, ‘Oh God here we go, Dad and his street stories, whatever Dad.’ They’re not impressed,” said Wahlberg. “Well they don’t act impressed, that’s for sure.”

The interview also saw the former underwear model reflecting on his early ‘90s Calvin Klein campaigns with supermodel Kate Moss, who has since expressed discomfort about the revealing shoots and accused Wahlberg of making unwelcome comments about her body.

“I think I was probably a little rough around the edges. Kind of doing my thing,” he told the Guardian, adding with a laugh that he “wasn’t very … worldly, let’s say that.

“But I’ve seen her and said hello. I think we saw each other at a concert here and there, we said hi and exchanged pleasantries.”


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