The casting couldn’t have been better. On Thursday, Sony Pictures released the first photo of Tom Hanks, 62, in the upcoming biopic about the beloved children’s television host Mr. Rogers. The film is working under the title “You Are My Friend,” and will tell the story of Fred Rogers, the well-known host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
The film will reportedly center on the real-life friendship between Rogers and Junod (played by Matthew Rhys), and how the assignment transformed the cynical journalist’s outlook on life. Susan Kelechi Watson and Chris Cooper will reportedly be featured in the film as well.
In the picture, the Oscar-winner is seen sitting down wearing a bright a vintage Mr. Rogers red cardigan over a button-up shirt and tie paired with khaki pants. Hanks’ hair and eyebrows are also dyed gray.
“Tom Hanks is Mister Rogers, coming to a neighborhood near you October 2019,” the studio captioned the photo on Twitter.
It was announced that Hanks would portray Rogers back in January while the film will be directed by Marielle Heller, whose previous credits include “Diary of a Teenage Girl” and the upcoming film, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster wrote the script for the film, which was inspired by journalist Tom Junod’s 1998 profile on Rogers, “Can You Say… Hero?”
By: Maytinee Kramer
