Tom Hanks plays America’s Neighbor, Fred Rogers, in the upcoming biopic about one of the most revered characters in television history. When the announcement was…
Tom Hanks plays America’s Neighbor, Fred Rogers, in the upcoming biopic about one of the most revered characters in television history. When the announcement was made that Hanks would play the iconic Mr. Rogers, there was a widespread acceptance that the casting could not have been more on point. And based on Tri-Star’s first photo of Hanks in his new role, it seems as if everybody was right.
Generations of American children knew that Mr. Rogers would come home from work, take off his jacket, and put on a cardigan — which he zipped over his shirt and tie. He would then sit on the bench while singing the welcoming song (written by himself) and change into his sneakers. The newly released pic shows Hanks in this simple outfit of the iconic cardigan and sneakers — Rogers’ signature outfit for many decades.
“My mother, for as long as I could remember, made at least one sweater every month. She would give us each a hand-knit sweater every Christmas. Until she died those zipper sweaters that I wore on the ‘Neighborhood’ were all made by my mother.”
There is no right or wrong way to write a magazine story, and, if so, the Fred Rogers profiile is an egregious error. But it’s a story I had to do, because it’s the story of a guy who found himself in spiritual trouble, and then found somebody to help him out. 10/
— Tom Junod (@TomJunod) January 31,2018
The Fred Rogers profile which inspired the movie to be made with Tom Hanks was the cover story of our «Heroes» issue. And the best thing about today’s news is that Hanks wants Fred to be understood as a hero of his time — meaning our time, right now. https://t.co/IWhQpQxCR5
— Tom Junod (@TomJunod) January 29,2018
“The really cool thing about Tom Hanks playing Fred is that Fred and Tom Hanks are similar in a really essential way in that they are gentle people, they are soft-spoken people, but they are powerful people.
I think that Tom Hanks can really bring that aspect of Fred out.”
Tom Hanks is Mister Rogers, coming to a neighborhood near you October 2019. pic.twitter.com/2TP3eiPUCx
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) September 27,2018