Tom Hanks to play Fred Rogers in You Are My Friend

Tom Hanks

Oscar winning-actor Tom Hanks is set to play late TV personality Fred Rogers in the biopic 'You Are My Friend'. The film has been acquired by TriStar Pictures, reports hollywoodreporter.com. Director Marielle Heller will helm from a screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.

The feature, set to begin production in September, is inspired by a real-life friendship between Rogers and award-winning journalist Tom Junod. The cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved TV icon Mr. Rogers and finds his perspective on life transformed.

Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf will produce via their Big Beach Films, along with Youree Henley. Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster will executive produce alongside Big Beach's Leah Holzer. Hannah Minghella and Shary Shirazi will oversee the project for TriStar.

Rogers, the star of the long-running children's TV series 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood', was the subject of the documentary 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' that premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. He died in 2003.

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