Tom Hanks Reacts to the Moment None of the 'Jeopardy' Contestants Knew Who He Was
Contestants on “Jeopardy!” were stumped when they were shown a picture of Tom Hanks dressed as the beloved Fred Rogers and were asked to identify the actor.
While the contestants’ inability to identify the “Forrest Gump” actor was truly tragic, Hanks’ initial reaction to not being recognized was priceless.
The clip of the Nov. 18 “Jeopardy!” episode quickly went viral, but somehow Hanks missed the hilarious scene.
From the Biopic category, a contestant picked a $200 question — which is supposed to be the easiest level in each category.
A scene from Hanks’ recently released “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” which depicts the relationship between Mr. Fred Rogers and a reporter, popped up on the screen and Alex Trebek asked the contestants which actor plays the beloved man in a red sweater.
Not only did the contestant who picked the card fail to respond, but so did the other two contestants standing next to her.
Finally the buzzer went off and Trebek, looking stunned, gave the answer before asking the contestant to choose another question.
All three of these contestants should immediately be disqualified for not knowing who Tom Hanks is. #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/rHHvT46pWM
— Darwin Brandis (@DTBbyTheSea) November 19, 2019
Hanks had not seen the viral clip until he appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“You are kidding me! You are kidding me!” Hanks said through stunned laughter. “They didn’t even have any wrong suggestions? Bing, Woody Harrelson? Bing, Mahershala Ali?”
‘What was the name of the category? Washed up career choices for $800? Bad casting for $1,000, Alex?’ Hanks joked.
But Kimmel tried to console Hanks by crediting it to his top-knotch acting skills.
“I look at it as, you inhabited that character so beautifully that even they were absorbed instantaneously,” he told Hanks.
Hanks seemed satisfied by Kimmel’s reasoning, but also added one last possible explanation.
“I think actually they were blinded by the red sweater,” he quipped. “They couldn’t make anything out.”
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” released on Friday and finished third in box offices during its opening weekend, according to IndieWire.
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