Fred Rogers was known to be extremely difficult to interview because he cared more about the person interviewing him than he did about being interviewed and would often use the time to befriend the person interviewing him.
Tom Hanks claimed that the hardest part about playing Fred Rogers was slowing down his speaking tempo, and he would do meditation and relaxation exercises before filming to get in the right mood. Between takes, he would resume rapid fire patter and drink lots of coffee.
During the TIFF post-film panel, Tom Hanks mentions how he wishes he and his son (Colin Hanks) at 3 years old had watched a half-hour of Mr. Rogers a week so he could learn that it is okay to be sad. Hanks feels children don't learn the importance of expressing emotions from a young age, and Mr. Rogers did an excellent job explaining this.
Fred Rogers' widow, Joanne Rogers, has stated that Tom Hanks is the perfect actor to play her late husband.
This movie is based on the article "Can You Say...'Hero?'" by Tom Junod, which was published in the November 1, 1998, issue of Esquire Magazine.
Joanne Rogers, David Newell, Margaret Whitmer, Bill Isler: Fred Rogers' widow, the actor who played Mr. McFeely, a producer of the show, and the CEO of the Fred Rogers Company all appear in the scene in the Chinese restaurant.