Tom Hanks honors late Iranian refugee who inspired ‘The Terminal’ film

Tom Hanks paid a heartwarming tribute to the late Iranian refugee who inspired him for 2004 film The Terminal.

Hanks’ tribute came days after it has been reported that Mehran Karimi Nasseri died after a heart attack on Saturday (Nov. 12).

The Cast Away star, 66, turned to his Instagram handle on Wednesday and shared a photo of Mehran standing in the airport next to an advertisement for The Terminal, which also starred Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The Forrest Gump actor wrote in the caption, "Sad to hear of the passing of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, aka Alfred, from Charles de Gaulle. 'The airport is not that bad.' No one knew that better than Mehran. Hanx."

Mehran was an Iranian refugee who was forced to live in the departure lounge of Terminal 1 at the Charles de Gaulle Airport after losing his refugee passport and being denied access to France.

He would serve as the inspiration for the Steven Spielberg directorial, in which Hanks played an Eastern European man forced to live in the John F. Kennedy Airport terminal after being denied entry to the United States.

Mehran lived in the airport from 1988 up until 2006, in which he was removed after he needed to be hospitalized. He eventually returned to living in the airport, and he suffered a heart attack while there, and sadly passed on Saturday at the age of 76.