Tom Hanks would like everyone to stop being so cynical

One of the reasons why Tom Hanks decided to play Fred Rogers in the new movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is because he was drawn to the beloved television host's innate kindness.

"Cynicism has become the default position for so much of daily structure and daily intercourse," Hanks told reporters at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday. "Why? Because it's easy, and there's good money to be made. Cynicism is a great product to sell, and it's the perfect beginning of any examination of anything. And part of that is conspiracy theories and what have you."

When Rogers started Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in the late 1960s, children were receiving negative messages on other programs, Hanks said. "Why would you put something that is cynical in front of a 2- or 3-year-old kid?" he asked. "That you are not cool because you don't have this toy? That it's funny to see someone being bopped on the head?" That's a poor way to treat the audience, and Rogers did the exact opposite. "We are allowed, I think, to feel good," Hanks said. "There's a place for cynicism, but why begin with it right off the bat?"

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