Tom Hanks to Portray Mr Rogers in New Movie Movies for Grownups

Tom Hanks to Portray Mr Rogers in New Movie

It s yet another real-life role for the two-time Oscar winner

Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images, Fotos International/Getty Images Actor Tom Hanks (left) is set to play TV icon Fred Rogers in "You Are My Friend." It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood for Tom Hanks fans. Fresh off his acclaimed role as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in , the 61-year-old actor is set to portray yet another real-world figure: Fred Rogers, who, as TV host Mr. Rogers, delighted children for years with his PBS show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Hanks has played a host of real-life figures, among them astronaut Jim Lovell, congressman Charlie Wilson, pilot and Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. The upcoming movie follows another buzzy project on Mr. Rogers — the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? — that depicts the TV pioneer over the course of his career at the helm of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1966 to 2001. The documentary premiered during the Sundance Film Festival in January. Hanks will star in You Are My Friend, which is about the friendship between Rogers, who died of stomach cancer in 2003 at the age of 74, and Tom Junod, an Esquire reporter and self-described cynic who came to the set of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to write a profile of the host. During the process, Rogers changed Junod’s perspective on the world, which the writer documented in his resulting piece for the magazine, titled It was published in 1998. After Hanks’ involvement was announced, Junod posted on Twitter: “It is finally happening, and in the best of ways. Well-timed, for this moment.” He wasn't alone in his happiness — Hanks immediately became a trending topic on Twitter, with fans expressing their joy to see the beloved actor taking on one of TV's most heralded figures.

Also of Interest

Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.