for a cameo in one of the most moving scenes of the year.
Had you always intended to use real items from Freds life in the movie?MARIELLE HELLER:No!
We didnt assume wed use anything real.
Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; Inset: Lacey Terrell/Sony
We thought wed recreate the set and do it as authentically as possible.
It came from a time when they were all in Nantucket.
I think Id gone home or hadnt arrived yet, and he was all by himself, writing.
Theyd say, What do you need?
and hed answer: Three bananas, small!
You became close with him.
He came over and met Joanne ROGERS:Oh yes, I would have given him anything.
I cant get rid of them.ROGERS:Its true!
We found out what they laughed about, what their private jokes were…
It was about trying to feel Fred in a bigger way.ROGERS:Fortunately, they were all warm people.
We just hit it off.HELLER:I was so moved by our first meeting.
We spent hours chatting the first time we met.
Do you feel that?ROGERS:I think the goodness is there.
There are Fred Rogerses out there.
Im so grateful, for Freds sake, because he cared so much about his philosophy.
Such special people have come along who feel the way he felt.
I find things providential sometimes, and this seems like one of them.
Joanne has a cameo during a pivotal, moving scene toward the end of the film.
Had you intended to put her in the movie from the beginning?HELLER:No!
I cant remember when we figured out we were going to put you in that scene.
There were a lot of people.
Bill Isler, Mardi Isler, [the real] Mr. McFeely!
Freds nephew, your nephew…
I remember [producer Peter Saraf] saying, What would you think about sneaking into Toms movie?
[Laughs].HELLER:That mightve been Peters idea.
It just made perfect sense.
That was a stressful day.ROGERS:Not for us!
It was just great fun.
I hadnt seen a lot of them for a long time.
Ive tried to [treat people with kindness] before this movie.
They have to feel safe to do that.
Its a totally outdated way of thinking.
Thats interesting, because the movie is a meditation on rage.
What do you do with the mad that you feel?
That, as a philosophy, is a bigger thesis for this movie.
A lot of adults dont have those tools.
That was between him and Tom.
And Bill said, No, maybe ask Joanne!
One thing I loved but didnt know much about before seeing the film was the dueling pianos scene.
Did you and Fred actually have pianos side-by-side to play together?ROGERS:We did!
That was my thing!
The piece we picked for the film, you said you guys wouldnt have played.
You visited set that day.
It was a very hard piece.ROGERS:We wouldnt have played it, but I knew it!
It was a duet, actually.
Maryann Plunkett [who plays Joanne], plays piano!HELLER:I made her learn that piece!
It looked so much like Fred.
It was just right.
I remember saying, But its Tom!
In the movie, you dont think about it too much.
And I remember seeing Toms eyes go wide and him saying, Really!
?ROGERS:He said, Thats all I needed!
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhoodis in theaters now.
