Tom Hanks Says Mister Rogers Helps Him Fight With Rita Wilson

Even Oscar-winning grown-ups can learn something from the gentle legacy of Fred Rogers from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

Tom Hanks, who plays Rogers in the new movie “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” said the late children’s TV host taught him how to fight more effectively with his wife, Rita Wilson.

In a calm tone reminiscent of Rogers, Hanks told Entertainment Tonight Sunday: “When my wife and I are going at it on those rare occasions, when she is letting me know that I’m not really listening to her and I’m trying to establish what the ground rules are [for the argument], when we’re going at it like that, one of us will say, ‘Well, you know what? You know what, honey? It’s good to talk. It’s good to say the things we feel.’ And I learned that from Mister Rogers.” 

The “Forrest Gump” actor, however, told ET that he and his spouse of 31 years spend far more time cooking than fighting.

“We make soup together,” Hanks said. “Like, if we have a day off and there’s nothing going on … it takes about two to three hours.”

Hanks said on the podcast “Sooo Many White Guys” a few years ago that his attraction to Wilson remains strong.

“Sometimes I look at that lady in the morning looking all tousled and warm from bed in her sweats and her hair all piled up on her head … smokin’ hot,” he said.

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” opens Nov. 22.