BEAUTIFUL DAY

Tom Hanks to Star as Mister Rogers in Biopic ‘You Are My Friend’

The Oscar-winning actor will play legendary PBS host Fred Rogers.

Tom Hanks has signed on to star as Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, in a new biopic set to start filming later this year. You Are My Friend, with a script by Transparent writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, will be directed by Marielle Heller, whose 2015 debut The Diary of a Teenage Girl won Best First Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. “The script knocked me out with its message of kindness and its exploration of the human spirit,” Heller told Variety of the project, which will focus on Rogers’ relationship with a journalist assigned to write a profile about him. “As a mother, I am so inspired by the teachings of Fred Rogers and as a human I am in awe of his life’s work. I can’t wait to bring his story to the public and be a part of such a thoughtful, smart group of people who are all coming together to make this film, which truly feels to me like an antidote to our very fractured culture.”