Tom Hanks is quite possibly one of the most iconic figures in the world of film and Mr. Rogers is possibly one of the most iconic figures in television. What happens when you bring the two of them together? A heartwarming masterpiece. Well, that’s what we’re hoping for at least as a Fred Rogers biopic with the title, You Are My Friend is in development starring the legendary Tom Hanks.
We saw the acclaimed documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor a few months ago, which saw the film exploring the cultural impact of the children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood which ran for 31 seasons. The film is set to be released in October next year and will be directed by Marielle Heller who directed Can You Ever Forgive Me? which is garnering some serious attention as the festival circuit. Together with Hanks, the film will be joined by a talented cast featuring Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper.
We’re a year away but the studio unveiled a first look at Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers in all its heartwarming and pleasant demeanor. Check it out below:
He seems perfect for the role and of course, the sweater helps a lot too. We can expect a pretty good biopic here and I gotta admit, it’s pretty surprising that Rogers hasn’t gotten the mainstream Hollywood biopic treatment yet (Maybe they did but it got lost in the biopic pile). The film is set to follow the narrative of Rogers and journalist Tom Junod (Rhys), who is tasked with writing a profile on Rogers for a magazine.
Rhys would definitely do great in this role as he’s done so in the past with the acclaimed series The Americans and his brief role in The Post which also starred Hanks. Hanks is obviously going to be phenomenal as the two-time Oscar winner has proven to be a master actor with films like Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Philadelphia. This is probably going to be something to look out for during Oscar season.
Source: Sony
