Sony has released the first image of Tom Hanks in costume as Mr. Rogers.
Hanks plays the iconic Fred Rogers in the upcoming biopic You Are My Friend which will be out in theaters next year.
The image was shared on the studio’sTwitter account on Thursday and shows Hanks, 62, dressed in a red sweater, beige slacks and blue sneakers sitting on the steps of his trailer.
First look: Tom Hanks is pictured for the first time as Mr. Rogers for the upcoming biopic You Are My Friend
He also sports greying hair and eyebrows for his portrayal of the beloved star.
The accompanying caption reads: Tom Hanks is Mister Rogers, coming to a neighborhood near you October 2019.
The film will focus on Rogers’ unlikely friendship with journalist Tom Junod, who got to know the TV personality while writing a 1998 profile on the star for Esquire magazine.
It’s described as a heartwarming tale in which ‘a cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved icon and finds his perspective on life transformed.’
Favorite: Rogers, who was the star of the much-loved long-running children’s series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, died in 2003 at the age of 74
The upcoming film will focus on Rogers’ unlikely friendship with journalist Tom Junod, who got to know the TV personality while writing a 1998 profile on the star for Esquire magazine
Rogers, who was the star of the much-loved long-running children’s series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, died in 2003 at the age of 74.
He was the subject of the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival this year.
While You Are My Friend is officially described as a biopic, director Marielle Heller says it really isn’t one.
‘[This] movie is…. not a biopic,’ the filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly. ‘I disliked that when it got announced it was characterized as such. It’s really not.
‘It’s a movie that’s largely focused on a reporter and [Mr. Rogers’] relationship to his life, and how [the reporter’s] whole world changes when coming in contact with Fred Rogers.’
Fred Rogers was was the subject of the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival this year
Hanks is pictured at the screening of Simple Wedding at the LA Film Festival on September 21