'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood' Trailer: Tom Hanks Is Mr. Rogers

Everybody loves Mr. Rogers. Everybody loves Tom Hanks. Therefore it only makes sense that Hanks would play the legendary television host in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a fictionalized drama inspired by a true story. Matthew Rhys plays a cynical journalist sent to profile Fred Rogers, and wouldn't ya know it – the endless niceness of Mr. Rogers gets through to his cold heart. Watch the A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood trailer below.

When Tom Hanks was announced to play Mr. Rogers, I thought: "Makes sense – but how is he going to do Fred Rogers's famous, soft-spoken voice?" The answer: he's not. As the trailer above reveals, Hanks isn't trying to do a dead-on Mr. Rogers impression. Instead, he's bringing his unique acting skills to create his own interpretation of the real-life figure. And it just might work – Hanks is all but assured to be a fixture at the impending awards season.

Here's the A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood synopsis:

Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer (Emmy winner Matthew Rhys) is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness, and decency from America's most beloved neighbor.

Marielle Heller, who helmed the fantastic Can You Ever Forgive Me?, directs. "[Mr. Rogers is] a guide for how to slow yourself down and connect with what's true in your heart, your kindness, your patience, and your goodness," Heller told EW. "Having his voice in my head for the past two years while I've been making this movie has made me a better parent...I approached every decision with the movie as: 'How would Fred approach this? How can we treat everybody with a level of emotional empathy and compassion that shows that we value everyone?' That was his main message: Everyone is valued."

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood opens November 22, 2019.