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Tom Hanks Finds Out He's Related To Fred Rogers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - It turns out that Tom Hanks and Mister Rogers are a little more than neighbors -- they're cousins.

This week, Tom Hanks was told by Access Hollywood that he's related to the late Fred Rogers, who Hanks will play on the big screen in "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood," which releases Friday.

fred rogers related to tom hanks
(Photo Credit: KDKA/SonyPictures/Twitter)

In the Access Hollywood report, Ancestry.com found that Hanks and Rogers share a distant cousin named Johannes Meffert.

WATCH: Tom Hanks finds out he's related to Fred Rogers

Tom Hanks Learns He's Related to Mr. Rogers (EXCLUSIVE) by Access on YouTube

Hanks' likenesses to Mister Rogers is so similar, his wife Joanne Rogers complimented the way Hanks brought her husband's legacy to life.

"I loved it," she said of the movie. "I think Tom is a genius, almost."

"I want to give credit — Tom Hanks has gotten lots and lots of good press and he deserves every bit of it," she said.

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