Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers in the upcoming biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, but it turns out his similarities to the children's TV host go further than just acting ability — the pair are actually related.
The news was broken to the actor while he was at a red carpet premiere of the film earlier this week.
Access Hollywood handed Hanks a print-out from Ancestry.com, confirming that Hanks and Fred Rogers are indeed sixth cousins. That means they share a fifth great-grandfather, Johannes Mefford, who was born in Germany in 1732.
Also among Hanks and Rogers's shared ancestors are Revolutionary War veterans, Mefford's sons Jacob and William (Hanks fourth great-grandfather and Rogers's fourth great grand-father, respectively).
See the family tree below via Ancestry, as well as Hanks's reaction to the discovery.
The news was broken to the actor while he was at a red carpet premiere of the film earlier this week.
Access Hollywood handed Hanks a print-out from Ancestry.com, confirming that Hanks and Fred Rogers are indeed sixth cousins. That means they share a fifth great-grandfather, Johannes Mefford, who was born in Germany in 1732.
Also among Hanks and Rogers's shared ancestors are Revolutionary War veterans, Mefford's sons Jacob and William (Hanks fourth great-grandfather and Rogers's fourth great grand-father, respectively).
See the family tree below via Ancestry, as well as Hanks's reaction to the discovery.