Tom Hanks has been revered in Hollywood as one of the veteran actors alongside Tom Cruise. Having quite the fame and popularity ever since the 1980s, both actors have received considerable spotlight for the various roles that they have portrayed.
Tom Hanks revealed that he refused the titular role in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. The role later went on to Tom Cruise, who pretty much nailed the character. The harrowing thing was that Hanks recalled Cruise as being perfect in the movie, even though the role of Maguire was created with the image of the Apollo 13 actor in mind!
Tom Hanks Does Not Regret Passing Upon Jerry Maguire
Following the story of a sports agent named Jerry Maguire who tries to get back on his feet after getting fired from a job, Jerry Maguire is a sports-comedy film that people loved when it was released. Tom Cruise essentially became Hollywood’s heartthrob for his portrayal as the lead character after Tom Hanks rejected the role.
Even though the Captain Phillips actor passed upon the role, Hanks stated that he has no regrets. Stating that Tom Cruise looked perfect in the film, Hanks had nothing but praise for the actor and how Jerry Maguire turned out to be in the end.
“I think you look at it now and it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise. It’s the way the movie’s operated. I don’t think anybody would look at that now and say, ‘That movie was not perfect.'”
Writer/director Cameron Crowe stated that the role of the sports agent was written with Tom Hanks‘ image in mind. The Inferno actor was however busy directing That Thing You Do and thus couldn’t make it to Jerry Maguire.
Tom Hanks Also Rejected When Harry Met Sally For A Hilarious Reason!
Related: “From that, came the movie”: Tom Hanks Read a Single Article, Came Up With This $429M Movie
Back in 1989, Hanks was also offered the lead role in the romance/comedy movie When Harry Met Sally. The actor rejected the role for one simple and yet hilarious reason. Stating that why would anyone be sad if they are single, Hanks wasn’t able to relate to the character and hence, decided to pass up on the movie. Hank’s wife Rita Wilson talked about the refusal in an interview and stated that the actor was going through a divorce and hence, couldn’t relate.
“People probably don’t know this, but Tom was offered WhenHarry Met Sally, and he turned it down because he was going through a divorce and he was very happy to not be married,” Wilson said. “And so he could not understand that a person going through a divorce would have anything other than just like, ‘I’m so happy.”
Both movies worked out pretty well in the end and yet Hanks did not have any regrets at all. The Tom Cruise starrer Jerry Maguire is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Source: Contact Music
