Tom Hanks Plays Fred Rogers in ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’, A Film Based on a 1998 Esquire Article

In September 2018 we wrote about a wonderful photo that Sony Pictures had posted of actor Tom Hanks dressed in a red sweater and blue tennis shoes for his portrayal as the late, greatly missed Fred Rogers for a film set to come out in 2019.

As promised, Sony Pictures has released a trailer for this film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a feature-length biopic about America’s beloved neighbor based on a 1998 Esquire article entitled “Can You Say… Hero?”.

Tom Hanks plays Fred Rogers and Matthew Rhys plays Tom Junod, a dubious Esquire writer who was assigned in 1998 to find out more about the children’s show host. Over the course of several interviews, Junod finds that he admires this amazing man who embodies kindness and decency.

Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer (Emmy winner Matthew Rhys) is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness, and decency from America’s most beloved neighbor.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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