--- title: Tom Hanks Is Playing Mr Rogers In a Movie: Internet Reactions description: Fans of both Tom Hanks and the iconic Mr. Rogers can't wait to see the famous actor take on the role of the famously decent TV host. canonical: https://time.com/5123874/tom-hanks-mr-rogers-reactions/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-29T21:49:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:50:11.430Z og:title: The Internet Is Thrilled Tom Hanks Is Set to Play Mr. Rogers og:description: It's a match made in casting heaven og:url: https://time.com/5123874/tom-hanks-mr-rogers-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt889b855425fe7d07/6988f9ec86f68e64d16e815f/tom-hanks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: 'The Post' European Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Is Thrilled Tom Hanks Is Set to Play Mr. Rogers twitter:description: It's a match made in casting heaven twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt889b855425fe7d07/6988f9ec86f68e64d16e815f/tom-hanks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # America's Biological Father Tom Hanks Was Cast as Mister Rogers and People Could Barely Handle the News > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8621b573-604f-4eca-8328-41f1564dbd93&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 29, 2018 9:49 PM UTC  LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 10: Tom Hanks attends 'The Post' European Premeire at Odeon Leicester Square on January 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage) LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 10: Tom Hanks attends 'The Post' European Premeire at Odeon Leicester Square on January 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage) Samir Hussein—Samir Hussein/WireImage  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 29, 2018 9:49 PM UTC It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood for fans of both [Tom Hanks](http://time.com/5123854/tom-hanks-mister-rogers/) and Mister Rogers: the Oscar-winning actor is set to play the beloved television icon in an upcoming movie titled _You Are My Friend_, [according to TriStar pictures](http://time.com/5123854/tom-hanks-mister-rogers/). The film, which is loosely based on an _Esquire_ profile by writer Tom Junod, traces the writer’s experience meeting — and befriending, with transformative effects — the family-friendly screen personality. It’s being directed by Marielle Heller, the mind behind the well-reviewed coming-of-age story [_Diary of a Teenage Girl_](http://time.com/3984455/the-diary-of-a-teenage-girl-empowerment/). And the internet is absolutely thrilled that [America’s Dad Hanks](http://time.com/4543494/david-pumpkins-costume/) has been cast in this particular role, which will take many viewers back to their childhoods and time spent learning from Mr. Rogers and his zany cast of puppet characters while singing along to his memorable tunes. Here’s hoping Hanks spends all the time he needs perfecting the art of changing shoes and putting on sweaters with the precise aplomb of Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers [passed away in 2003](http://old.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030504rogers0504p1.asp) after being diagnosed with cancer. > [](https://twitter.com/TomJunod/status/958058597388300288) > [](https://twitter.com/davidlsims/status/958051424008654849) > [](https://twitter.com/ErinLea7/status/958056706524766212) > [](https://twitter.com/taylor%5Fshortall/status/958065062689701888) > [](https://twitter.com/attilathehoneyb/status/958058094101258241) > [](https://twitter.com/VMastro1594/status/958072635476365313) > [](https://twitter.com/Coolguyreiner/status/958070299773362176) > [](https://twitter.com/mmpadellan/status/958071332138340359) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5123874/tom-hanks-mr-rogers-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5123874/tom-hanks-mr-rogers-reactions/"},"headline":"America's Biological Father Tom Hanks Was Cast as Mister Rogers and People Could Barely Handle the News","datePublished":"2018-01-29T21:49:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:50:11.430Z","description":"Fans of both Tom Hanks and the iconic Mr. Rogers can't wait to see the famous actor take on the role of the famously decent TV host.","url":"https://time.com/5123874/tom-hanks-mr-rogers-reactions/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","celebrities","Tom Hanks"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt889b855425fe7d07/6988f9ec86f68e64d16e815f/tom-hanks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt889b855425fe7d07/6988f9ec86f68e64d16e815f/tom-hanks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"'The Post' European Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals","caption":"'The Post' European Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals","creditText":"Samir Hussein—Samir Hussein/WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5123874/tom-hanks-mr-rogers-reactions/","name":"America's Biological Father Tom Hanks Was Cast as Mister Rogers and People Could Barely Handle the News"}}]}] ```