Tom Hanks jokes about wearing sweatpants for weeks and becoming like 'American's Dad' after coronavirus diagnosis 'since no one wants to be around me very long' as he hosts first SNL at Home show

Tom Hanks joked about forgetting how to do up buttons, not knowing what day of the week it is, and how his coronavirus diagnosis made people feel 'uncomfortable' around him as he hosted the first ever virtual, stay-at-home episode of 'Saturday Night Live'.

Hanks, 63, previously revealed he and his wife Rita Wilson had been diagnosed with coronavirus on March 11 while in Australia and he used his SNL opening dialogue to quip about how it made him feel more like 'America's Dad' than ever, mainly because nobody wanted to be around him.

'I have been the "celebrity canary in the coal mine" for the coronavirus, and ever since being diagnosed, I have been more like "America's Dad" than ever before — since no one wants to be around me very long, and I make people uncomfortable,' he said, referimng to disgraced comedian Bill Cosby.

This was the first episode of SNL to air in five weeks, after an episode scheduled for March 28, featuring first-time host John Krasinski and musical guest Dua Lipa, was scrapped due to the coronavirus lockdown in New York City. 

Hanks also added a more solemn note to end of his appearance as he spoke about the people who are unable to stay at home and are continuing to head out to work amid the pandemic.

'Stay safe,' he said. 'We are in this for the duration, and we will get through this together.

'We are going to thank our hospital workers, the first responders and all the helpers. The supermarket stockers, the people who are making takeout for us, the men and women who are keeping this country going at a time when we need them more than ever before.

'We are going to take care of them, and take care of each other.'

Hanks started his opener with a shout to 'Tiger King', the Netflix documentary that has become a massive hit in recent weeks as the coronavirus shutdowns began to take hold of the country.

'Hey all you cool cats and kittens,' he said - making reference to Tiger King star Carole Baskin's catchphrase. 

He also commented on his shaved head which he promised was just for a movie role.

'It is a strange time to try and be funny, but trying to be funny is SNL's whole thing, so we thought, "What the heck? Let's give it a shot!" Hanks continued.

After joking about his role as 'America's Dad', Hanks dove into his monologue about his own experience suffering from the virus and living in quarantine. 

He and his wife have now recovered and returned to the United States. 

'I was first diagnosed down in Australia,' he said. 'Now, the folks in Australia are fantastic in every way, but they use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit when they take your temperature, so when they come in and say, "You're 36," which seemed very bad to me, it turns out 36 is fine; 38 is bad. 

'So basically, it's how Hollywood treats female actors.'

He also made wisecracks about the effect that staying at home has, claiming that he's all but forgotten how to dress himself in anything but athleisure.

'But now my wife [Rita Wilson] and I are doing fine, doing great, hunkered down like all of us should be. In fact, this suit? This is the first time I've worn anything other than sweatpants since March 11,' Hanks said.

'My wife had to help me put it on because I've forgotten how buttons work but it turns out there's these little disks and they slide into these slots. It's amazing!'

'Also there's no such things as Saturday anymore,' he added. 'Just every day is today and we're not really live but we are doing everything we can to try and make this feel like the SNL you know and love.' 

The actor made an attempt at a funny Q&A section, dressing up as different characters to ask himself questions.

Throwing on a beret, paper mustache and pipe, Hanks asked himself how he managed to stay in shape while an Australian cowboy character quizzed him about the Australian classic Vegemite.

He also took some time to take a jab at the show itself.

'We have a great show for you tonight,' Hanks said.

'Is it going to look a little different then what you're used to? Yes. Will it be strange to see sketches without big sets and the costumes? Sure but will it make you laugh? Eh, it's SNL.

'There'll be some good stuff, maybe one or two stinkers, you know the drill.' 

Also featured on the show was music from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, as well as sketches involving a Pete Davidson music video from his mom's basement and Kate McKinnon in character as Ruth Bader Ginsburg leading a home workout tutorial.  

Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were on lock-down while recovering in Australia, where Hanks was filming a movie about Elvis Presley.

The production is currently suspended.  

The couple are now back in the United States after their recovery.