“I’m still waiting for the check”: Tom Hanks Reveals Mission Impossible Star Tom Cruise Owes Him $1 for Letting Him Star in $276M Movie That Landed Him an Oscar Nomination

"I'm still waiting for the check": Tom Hanks Reveals Mission Impossible Star Tom Cruise Owes Him $1 for Letting Him Star in $276M Movie That Landed Him an Oscar Nomination
Featured Video

Everybody in the film industry wants to work with Mr. Nice Guy aka Tom Hanks. After all, he has proved time and again exactly why he is worthy of being at the top of the pyramid. Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and the more recent, A Man Called Otto are just some of the many movies that have stuck with me thanks to Tom Hanks’ raw performance.

Advertisement
Tom Hanks opens up about his directorial debut
Tom Hanks

To the list of those who want to work with Tom Hanks, add the name of director Cameron Crowe. Cameron Crowe revealed that the lead role in Jerry Maguire, which was played by Tom Cruise, was originally written for Tom Hanks. However, owing to scheduling conflicts, the actor had to back out and Tom Cruise was roped in. The film did so well that Tom Cruise received an Oscar nomination for his work. Since he got the role only after Tom Hanks rejected it, the latter believes the former owes him at least a dollar.

Also Read: “Emotionally, it’s devastating”: Tom Hanks Turned Down Martin Scorsese to Act in $183M Comic-Book Movie With Daniel Craig

Advertisement

Tom Cruise Owes Tom Hanks a Whole Dollar

Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire
Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire

Also Read: Steven Spielberg Made Matt Damon and Tom Hanks Go Through Hellish Bootcamp for Saving Private Ryan to Make Them Respect Real Soldiers

In an interview with NBC Sports, Cameron Crowe stated that he had a meeting with Tom Hanks about Jerry Maguire. Although Hanks for courteous and grateful, he had to turn the offer down as he was busy with his directorial debut, That Thing You Do! Thus, the role went to Tom Cruise.

Talking about this with Access Hollywood, Hanks joked about how he believed he was eligible for a dollar straight from Cruise’s pocket for giving up the role and landing him an Oscar nomination.

Advertisement

“I talked to Cameron Crowe about a year in advance. And during that time, my good friend Jonathan Demme and I were talking about stuff that we wanted to do. And I had this idea for That Thing You Do! So by the time that train was running…I made that movie and was not available then to work with Cameron Crowe. I would like to think, however, that Tom Cruise owes me one dollar. And I am still waiting for the check.”

Cruise also told Access Hollywood that since he is a huge fan of Hanks, he would have loved to see what he would be like in the film.

Also Read: Tom Hanks Heavily Relied on One Food to Gain 30 lbs to be a Baseball Player in $132 Million Movie

Tom Cruise’s Christmas Tradition Involving Tom Hanks

White chocolate coconut bundt cake
The white chocolate coconut bundt cake

Hanks and Cruise are on good enough terms that the latter goes out of his way to send a special cake to the former on Christmas. Every year, Hanks and his colleagues at Playtone World Headquarters wait for the white chocolate coconut bundt cake Cruise has delivered to their office. In fact, the cake is so good that Hanks has it listed as a part of his last meal on the planet.

Advertisement

Appearing on Mythical Kitchen, Hanks walked us through his ideal last meal which included an In-N-Out burger, a Diet Coke, a Greek salad with avocado and calamari, and much more. To end the meal with a bang, Hanks would love to have the bundt cake, one last time.

“This cake is so great you can really only have it once a year, which works out perfectly because I don’t order it. It arrives as a gift at Christmas…Not everybody gets this white chocolate coconut bundt cake. Now what’s interesting is the folks down at the office, the Playtone World Headquarters, starting around Thanksgiving they start eyeing what mail has come in today. Is the bog box coming in? Are we getting what has essentially been called the Tom Cruise cake?”

Hanks also added that everyone tries to eat the thinnest slices of the cake so as to enjoy the cake for a longer period of time. Hanks just made our mouths drool!

You can stream Jerry Maguire on Netflix.

Advertisement

Source: Access Hollywood

Avatar

Written by Mishkaat Khan

Articles Published: 1101

Mishkaat is a medical student who found solace in content writing. Having worked in the industry for about three years, she has written about everything from medicine to literature and is now happy to enlight you about the world of entertainment. She has written over 500 articles for FandomWire. When not writing, she can be found obsessing over the world of the supernatural through books and TV.