Tom Hanks Plays Mister Rogers In 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood' And His Performance Is Incredible

Jul 22, 2019 by apost team

Some people are old enough to remember the years before cable TV when there were only three channels and sometimes more if you could get good UHF reception.

Consequently, what you got to watch on TV was whatever happened to be showing on those few channels. In those times, people were limited to watching daytime reruns such as “Leave it to Beaver” and “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.”

Those shows were sometimes adequate enough to pass the time, but many people have fond childhood memories of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The soothing voice of Fred Rogers and the happy toot of the trolley gave young children a sense of well-being and comfort.

Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister who decided that, rather than preaching from the pulpit, public television was a more preferable means of giving service. His decision is having lasting ripples through time as now there are two films in recent years about his life and work.

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The documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” was shown at 2018's Sundance Film Festival, and now with the upcoming movie with Tom Hanks, people will be able to see Mr. Rogers in a second movie at theaters everywhere.

The film, directed by Marielle Heller, is not what you might expect. Instead of portraying the story of his life, it focuses mostly on events in the late 1990s.

The main focus of the film is the interactions between Mr. Rogers and a journalist named Tom Junod who created a piece about Rogers during the 90s. The part of Junod will be played by Matthew Rhys, known for his role in “The Americans.”

Through working with Mr. Rogers to create his journalistic profile, Junod learns the lessons of decency and kindness that Mr. Rogers strove to impart to his audience.

However, the main point of interest about the movie is not the Junod character, but the person who is portraying the iconic Mr. Rogers, who is none other than Tom Hanks. The first promotional images of Hanks wearing the recognizable red sweater and sporting a gray swath of hair across his face proves that Hanks pulls off a good likeness.

Even so, there were mixed reactions on social media about Tom Hanks and his likeness to Rogers. Some people felt he was perfect for the role while others were disappointed that he was not a perfect likeness.

Nevertheless, there is optimism about the movie, given how successful Hanks has been in other biographical roles. Recently he has taken on a challenging role as Rush drummer Neil Peart in a biographical film about the Canadian progressive rock band.

In any case, it won't be long before you get to see how well Tom Hanks portrays Mr. Rogers, since the film will be released this November.

What do you think? How well will Hanks fit the role? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this article along to your friends and family!