Tom Hanksas Fred Rogers can you imagine a more perfect match?
Am I perfect for playing a guy like Mister Rogers?
Well, Im a professional.
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Ill go at it full tilt.
But does that mean Im also the only guy who can play Captain Kangaroo?
Like many a Hanks character, Rogers emerges heroically: believably, movingly, uniquely so.
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So, yes, Fred Rogers sort of fits Tom Hankslike a glove.
Ive baby-sat [many] kids by way of some [of my] movies, Hanks concedes.
Mister Rogers feels like a milestone in many ways for Hanks.
Itd be his first Oscar nomination in nearly 20 years.
The script forBeautiful Day(by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster) has been around for a while.
The first time you read something like that, all youre reading is a blank canvas.
Theres nobody to guide you… to what the movie actuallymeans.
Mari… was a spiritual force behind the movie.
The two engaged in deep conversations over how exactly to portray Rogers.
Hanks watched the acclaimed documentaryWont You Be My Neighbor?in addition to hours and hours of interviews.
He streamed every episode ofMister Rogers Neighborhoodthat he possibly could.
But he did not dramatically alter his appearance.
Mari stated very clearly, We are not going to do a physical re-creation of him.
We are going to do a spiritual lamination on who the man is, Hanks says.
Aside from a wig and eyebrow work, he was left to capture Rogers on his own.
On one hand, it liberates you youre not locked into photographs or measurements, he says.
But I dont get to hide inside a neck that is glued to the top of my shoulders.
The production was furthersurrounded by people who knew Rogers, including his widow, Joanne.
It was like shooting in Vatican City, Hanks says.
Youre walking into a place that is nearly holy ground.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhoodis in theaters now.
