A beloved movie star playing a beloved television star. That's what you're going to see when the movie "You Are My Friend" is released in theaters next October. Tom Hanks will take on the role of Fred Rogers, star of the long-running television hit Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The film is not a biopic about Rogers, though if you're interested in seeing something like that, read about a documentary that came out last June.

Hanks, a talented and celebrated Hollywood star, seems like a perfect choice to play Rogers. Besides a faint resemblance, both men share likeable qualities and come off as genuine, compassionate men. Sony Pictures recently tweeted a picture of Hanks dressed in costume as Rogers, wearing a famed red cardigan and blue sneakers.

The film will be about a reporter who happens to meet Rogers and is forever changed after the meeting...not unlike many people in real life. While researching for the movie, writers said they were surprised how many people they talked to that credited Rogers for changing their lives for the better.

Photo: By Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan [CC BY 2.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons