Tom Hanks has had a busy 2019 in
terms of film roles. In addition to reprising his iconic voice-acting role as
cowboy toy Woody for Disney-Pixar’s unexpected yet amazing “Toy Story 4,” on
the live-action side he is also taking on yet another memorable biographical
role after playing Walt Disney in 2013’s “Saving Mister Banks.” For
Sony-TriStar Pictures’ “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Hanks steps into
the cardigan sweater and sneakers of Fred Rogers, creator of legendary children’s
educational show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The veteran actor is already
proven effectively-cast as Rogers with his portrayal in trailers. Imagine Hanks’
surprise that their similarities may be due to being related.
According to CBS News, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were approached for
interview by “Access Hollywood” just this Monday, November 18, during an
advance screening of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” at New York City.
Here the interviewers revealed a report from genealogy website Ancestry.com,
showing a distant relation between Hanks and Fred McFeely Rogers. The news was
such a bombshell that Wilson was heard disbelieving telling “Access Hollywood”
that they were “pulling her and her husband’s legs.” But when an infographic
from Ancestry.com was shown to them, Hanks was pleasantly surprised.
From the research done by
Ancestry.com, Hanks and Mister Rogers are sixth cousins, sharing a common
ancestry in a five-times-great-grandfather, Johannes Meffert (born 1732) who
immigrated from Germany to America before the US was formed. As Ancestry.com
spokesperson Kerri Madonna explained on Tuesday, November 19, Meffert had two
sons, Jacob (1763) and William (1760) who assumed the Americanized last name
Mefford, with the actor descending from the former (via his father Amos Hanks) and
the TV personality from the latter (via his mother Nancy McFeely).
Tom Hanks’ own reaction to this
revelation was initially a joking request to have Ancestry.com determine if
Johnny Depp was also related to Fred Rogers. Afterwards however, he was more
philosophical considering how audiences have remarked on the slight resemblance
between the two and how the actor managed to capture Mister Rogers’ personality
onscreen. At length he notes, “It all just comes together, you see."
Fred Rogers hosted “Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood” from 1968 to 2001, and later died in 2003. “A Beautiful Day in
the Neighborhood” stars Hanks and Mathew Rhys under the direction of Marielle
Heller. The film premieres this Wednesday on November 22.
Image courtesy of E! Online
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