Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers: Actor Cast as Beloved Entertainer for Biopic

Tom Hanks will play legendary children’s entertainer Fred Rogers in a biopic film about his life called “You Are My Friend.” 

According to Variety, TriStar Pictures has gained the rights to distribute the film worldwide, and Marielle Heller is set to direct the film from a script written years ago by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.

“I’m thrilled to be making ‘You Are My Friend,’” Heller said, Variety reported. “The script knocked me out with its message of kindness and its exploration of the human spirit. 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.” 

Heller also called the film “an antidote to our very fractured culture,” Variety reported.

The premise of the movie is that an award-winning journalist, Tom Junod, is assigned to write a profile of Rogers and finds his cynical outlook on life changed in the process. The two go on to become friends.

“Now more than ever, we all need a re-introduction to Fred Rogers’ message of uncompromising love and kindness between all living things,” Big Beach Films producers Mark Turtletaub and Peter Saraf said in a statement.

Production for the film is expected to begin in September, Variety reported. 

Rogers died in 2003 at age 74. A current children’s show, “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” incorporates characters and lessons from Rogers' daily television show and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” a documentary about Rogers, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and will be released in summer 2018.

• Mr. Rogers Biopic, ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,’ in Works
• Mr. Rogers Lives On in ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood’ on PBS