Actors Who Refused Roles In Tom Hanks Movies
No matter their personal tastes, affiliations, or walk of life, pretty much anybody who enjoys movies can agree on Tom Hanks. He's one of the most successful and acclaimed actors of this era — or any era — and pretty much every film in which Hanks appears is an event. It's hard to imagine anybody but the charming, likable, and avuncular Hanks starring in any of the entries in his varied canon, like "Apollo 13," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Philadelphia, "The Da Vinci Code," "Big," "Forrest Gump," and "Saving Private Ryan."
A Tom Hanks movie is almost guaranteed to be a critical or commercial hit, and most any professional actor in the world would thank their lucky stars at an offer to appear alongside America's middle-aged sweetheart in a major motion picture. But, for a variety of reasons, several stars — many of them as famous or even more famous than Hanks — had to pass on the chance. Here are some casting near-misses, brought about by rejection (polite or otherwise), involving Tom Hanks films.
Garth Brooks (Saving Private Ryan)
Unlike many other top-selling music superstars, country icon Garth Brooks hasn't done a lot of acting over the years, though this apparently isn't because he hasn't had offers. In 2013, Billboard revealed that Brooks' former production partner and de facto talent agent Lisa Sanderson had filed a lawsuit against the singer, alleging that she lost money because Brooks turned down perfectly good acting roles out of ego. Brooks is a "paranoid, angry, deceitful and vindictive man who will turn against those closest to him on a dime," the suit claimed.
Sanderson said that Brooks could have starred in 1996's "Twister" but opted against doing so because he didn't want the CGI tornado to pull the focus away from him. And, per the lawsuit, Brooks also said no to a Tom Hanks film out of fear of being upstaged: 1998's "Saving Private Ryan." According to Sanderson, Brooks "wanted to be the star and was unwilling to share the limelight with [...] Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Edward Burns." In a statement (via E! News), Brooks denied all of Sanderson's claims.
John Leguizamo (Philadelphia)
By the early 1990s, Tom Hanks was one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood, but he was known primarily for lightweight, populist fare. In 1993, Hanks took on the most dramatic role of his career to that point: He played Andrew Beckett, a lawyer with AIDS who grapples with systemic homophobia while suing his former law firm for wrongful termination in "Philadelphia." Hanks won an Academy Award for "Philadelphia," which also stars Antonio Banderas as Beckett's lover and partner, Miguel Alvarez.
The role of Miguel nearly went to an actor who, like Hanks, was best known for his comedic work, John Leguizamo. "I was supposed to be Tom Hanks' lover," Leguizamo said on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in 2017. Of course, "Philadelphia" went on to be a huge success. To make matters worse, Leguizamo turned the picture down in favor of 1993's "Super Mario Bros.," a notorious box office bomb. "They all won Oscars, and I won the 'John How Could You Be So Stupid Award' from my wife," Leguizamo added.
Dave Chappelle (Forrest Gump)
While simultaneously building a career in stand-up comedy, Dave Chappelle landed supporting roles in a number of high-profile films in the 1990s, such as "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," "Undercover Blues," and "The Nutty Professor." When Tom Hanks was ready to follow up his dramatic turn in "Philadelphia" with the American history epic "Forrest Gump" (which would win him his second Oscar), Chappelle was on the list of actors that producers wanted to play Forrest's friend Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue, a man even more kind-hearted and less intelligent than Hanks' character. They meet while fighting in the Vietnam War, and, after Bubba's death in combat, Forrest goes on to start a shrimping company in his honor.
"Forrest Gump" would earn $678 million, win a bunch of Academy Awards and dominate the 1994 film awards circuit — but it did so without Chappelle. Mykelti Williamson played Bubba instead, because Chappelle said no. "They tried to get me in 'Forrest Gump,'" Chappelle said in a stand-up set (via Comedy Hype). "I must have read the wrong script. This script stunk when I read it." Chappelle seemingly took offense at being asked to play a Black character presented as so wildly unintelligent. Four years later, however, he'd finally appear in a big movie with Hanks, featuring in "You've Got Mail."
David Alan Grier (Forrest Gump)
Mykelti Williamson was relatively unknown when he landed the role of Bubba in the Tom Hanks-led hit "Forrest Gump," a part that would send him straight into major film acting and out of guest star roles on episodic television. Before casting him, producers attempted to land an actor with whom audiences would be more familiar: David Alan Grier. However, like Dave Chappelle, he said no.
A film and Broadway veteran, Grier was best known for the Eddie Murphy movie "Boomerang" and his four-year stint on Fox's popular sketch show "In Living Color" at the time. "Forrest Gump" would have been his most high-profile gig yet, but he passed nevertheless. He admitted that this was a mistake during a 2018 appearance on Busy Philipps' "Busy Tonight" (via Just Jared).
"I'm like, 'Listen, if I'm going to be playing a mentally challenged person, I got to be the lead, I can't be no mentally challenged sidekick,'" Grier said. "So I read 20 pages and I said, 'Listen man, I'm not going in on this. He's talking about shrimp the whole damn movie.'" Despite learning from his agent that Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis both wanted him to join the cast, he still passed. "I screwed that up," Grier conceded.
Brad Pitt (Apollo 13)
After back-to-back hits in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump," Tom Hanks made it three in a row with Ron Howard's "Apollo 13." The harrowing space drama is based on the true story of the Apollo 13 crew, who had to return to Earth early after an explosion in one of the service module's oxygen tanks created a short circuit. They were some 200,000 miles from Earth at the time, and some clever improvisation was needed to get them all home. The main astronauts are played by major actors of the 1990s: Tom Hanks is Commander Jim Lovell, Bill Paxton is Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, and Gary Sinise is grounded pilot Ken Mattingly.
Kevin Bacon rounded out the headliners as Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert, though he wasn't the first choice. Before Bacon was hired, producers approached Brad Pitt about the role, who turned it down to star in David Fincher's gripping thriller "Seven" alongside Morgan Freeman. Pitt revealed this during a 1995 chat with The Morning Call, saying: "I was talking to my mom the other night and she said, 'I just saw the best movie called Apollo 13.' She said, 'You have to do more movies like this.' I said, 'Mom, I turned that down for 'Seven.'" Of course, this wasn't necessarily a bad move — "Seven" dropped to critical acclaim and is still highly thought of to this day.
Billy Crystal (Toy Story)
1995's "Toy Story" represented a lot of firsts. Not only was it Pixar's debut feature film, but it was also the first time that Tom Hanks had voiced an animated character on the big screen. Today, he's well known for the role of Woody, a cowboy doll who tries to get rid of newcomer Buzz Lightyear, a spaceman action figure who threatens to replace him as owner Andy's favorite toy. Tim Allen, star of the hit sitcom "Home Improvement," was given the chance to voice Buzz after Billy Crystal turned the role down.
After casting Hanks, producer John Lasseter approached Crystal, convinced he had the perfect voice to breathe life into Buzz. He quickly passed, and after "Toy Story" was released (becoming the top-grossing film of 1995), he regretted it. "I'm the schmuck who turned down 'Toy Story,'" Crystal told Yahoo! Entertainment, revealing that he didn't think he was right for the role. "Tim Allen is great, he has this resonant, big voice for this character who's full of himself." A few years later, Crystal would eagerly sign up for another Pixar buddy movie, voicing Mike Wazowski in "Monsters, Inc."
Debra Winger (A League of Their Own)
One of the biggest box office hits of 1992, "A League of Their Own" is a period sports dramedy about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, a women's sports league that began operating during World War II. The film attracted huge audiences because of its star power: Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, and Lori Petty feature as some of the players of the Rockford Peaches, with Tom Hanks playing grouchy coach Jimmy Dugan. However, the addition of one big-name member of the cast is precisely why another major performer gave up the lead role in "A League of Their Own."
Debra Winger — star of massive '80s movies like "Urban Cowboy," "An Officer and a Gentleman," and "Terms of Endearment" — enthusiastically signed up for the movie and spent three months in rigorous baseball training with the Chicago Cubs. Winger was ready to film her scenes as catcher Dottie Hinson, until she learned that director Penny Marshall had cast Madonna in the film. And with that, Winger was gone. She told The Telegraph that she felt like the movie had evolved into a pop star showcase akin to an "Elvis film." In the end, Geena Davis played Dottie instead.
Shaquille O'Neal (The Green Mile)
Shaquille O'Neal is, of course, most famous for his career as an NBA superstar, but his personality and popularity transcended sports, so much so that he made many inroads into entertainment. He's appeared in dozens of commercials over the years and starred in a few movies, including "Kazaam," "Blue Chips" and the DC superhero flick "Steel." O'Neal has also popped up in a bunch of Adam Sandler movies. However, what some people don't know is that he also could have appeared in the smash hit Tom Hanks film "The Green Mile."
Based on a bestseller by Stephen King, the film ultimately received four Academy Award nominations, including one for best picture and one for best supporting actor for Michael Clarke Duncan. The late actor played John Coffey, a towering, gentle, and innocent death row prisoner in the 1930s with supernatural gifts. This is the role that was initially offered to O'Neal. "That was my role in 'Green Mile,' I turned it down," O'Neal said on the "Marchand and Ourand" podcast (via CBS Sports). "I didn't want to play the down south African-American guy during slavery. I didn't want to play that role. But the guy who played it, Michael Clarke Duncan, did an excellent job."
James Gandolfini (Catch Me if You Can)
"Catch Me if You Can" boasts a pretty enormous level of talent. Based on the memoir of con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. (which, according to more recent findings, is in itself a con, being full of apparent fabrications), the 2002 movie is directed by Steven Spielberg. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale, with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, and James Brolin in minor roles. Tom Hanks plays Carl Hanratty, the perpetually foiled federal agent who almost manages to catch Abagnale several times during his criminal escapades. As it turns out, plenty of Hollywood big shots just missed out on being a part of "Catch Me if You Can."
Gore Verbinski was set to direct "Catch Me if You Can" at one stage, but delays on the DiCaprio film "Gangs of New York" caused a backlog and production temporarily ceased. Due to other scheduling commitments, previously signed-up actors had to bail, including Chloe Sevigny, Ed Harris, and "The Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, who was supposed to play an FBI agent named Joe Shaye. When "Catch Me if You Can" resumed production with Spielberg in the director's chair, Gandolfini was out. The role of Joe Shaye would be rewritten as Carl Hanratty and offered to Hanks.
Kathleen Turner (The Money Pit)
After the one-two punch of the sitcom "Bosom Buddies" and the fantasy romcom "Splash" made him a household name in the mid-1980s, Tom Hanks starred in a series of broad and agreeable comedies, including "Big," "Bachelor Party," and "The Money Pit." This 1986 relatable everyman farce stars Hanks and Shelley Long (of "Cheers" fame) as young couple Walter and Anna. They purchase what they think is their dream house, only to find that everything that can go wrong with it does, resulting in all kinds of destructive mishaps and costly repairs.
Before Long signed on to play Anna, filmmakers had another (more reliably bankable) actor in mind: Kathleen Turner, who was coming off a string of memorable performances in "Body Heat," "Romancing the Stone," and "Prizzi's Honor." Around the same time that she got an offer for "The Money Pit," the filmmakers behind "Romancing the Stone" approached Turner about a sequel, "The Jewel of the Nile." According to the Chicago Tribune, she initially found the script subpar and she was hesitant after being unhappy about her pay on the original picture. However, Turner eventually decided to make "The Jewel of the Nile," turning down "The Money Pit."
Ricky Gervais (The Da Vinci Code)
Around the mid-2000s, comic actor and writer Ricky Gervais was in huge demand in the U.S. and U.K. entertainment industries after co-creating and starring as cringe-inducing boss David Brent on the original BBC version of "The Office." He followed that elevating project with another TV series, "Extras," and starred in the big screen comedies "Ghost Town" and "The Invention of Lying." Gervais also played some smaller roles in films like "Night at the Museum" and "Stardust." At one point, he also entertained an offer to play Rèmy Jean (assistant to Ian McKellen's villain Sir Leigh Teabing) in "The Da Vinci Code," the big screen adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller.
Directed by Ron Howard, it ended up being the first of three films starring Tom Hanks as mystery-solving professor Robert Langdon. Ultimately, the role of Remy went to French actor Jean-Yves Berteloot. But why did Gervais turn down the chance to work with Hanks? He explained his decision during a typically hilarious interview with the Daily Mirror. "I was offered the part of the butler," Gervais said (via DigitalSpy). "I told director Ron Howard, 'I will ruin your film. The number of times I've sat down for a great film by a great director and a British actor pops up and ruins it for me — I don't want to be that bloke.'"
Kevin Bacon (Forrest Gump)
Robert Zemeckis' "Forrest Gump" made waves in Hollywood back in 1994, becoming the second-highest grossing movie of the year behind Disney's animated smash hit "The Lion King." The film seemed to come out of nowhere, and even its star Tom Hanks wasn't sure anyone would care about "Forrest Gump." Thanks to Hanks' sublime performance as the titular character and a sensational supporting cast, the film scooped six Oscars, including best picture and best actor in a leading role for Hanks.
A character that's widely remembered from the story is Lieutenant Dan Taylor, the Vietnam War platoon leader who loses both of his legs. In the film, the irresistible Gary Sinise portrays Lt. Dan. However, the part could have gone to Kevin Bacon, according to casting director Ellen Lewis. Speaking to HuffPost, Lewis revealed the following detail: "I was working on 'Forrest Gump,' and the role of Lt. Dan, Robert Zemeckis very much wanted Kevin Bacon to play the role, and for whatever reason he passed on that."
Bacon appeared in two films in 1994, the basketball comedy "The Air Up There" and the thriller "The River Wild." It would have been interesting to see what he would have done with the role of Lt. Dan, but Sinise proved to be more than a worthy replacement here.
Senta Berger (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)
Vienna-born actor Senta Berger remains a treasured name in European cinema. She also crossed the Atlantic to experience the glitz and glamor of Hollywood once upon a time. However, Berger preferred to stay closer to home because of the belief that her accent prevented her from securing better parts in the '60s. However, that didn't stop the offers from coming in. In a 2012 interview with Tagesspiegel, Berger revealed that she had been offered a part in the Tom Hanks movie "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" — she didn't reveal which role was on the table, only that she turned it down.
The 2011 Stephen Daldry-directed film is inspired by the 2005 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. As such, Berger wanted to get familiar with the source material before agreeing to appear. The actor explained how she asked her casting agency if she could read the book before giving her final decision on the part. However, her agency responded with shock and surprise, pointing out that she would be on screen with Hanks, which apparently should have sold the idea to anyone. The seasoned actor wasn't star struck — she had worked with the likes of Kirk Douglas, Dean Martin, and Charlton Heston earlier in her career, after all — and declined the opportunity out of principle.
Diane Lane (Splash)
In many ways, Ron Howard's "Splash" feels like a live-action adaptation of the classic fairy tale "The Little Mermaid," as Tom Hanks' Allen Bauer falls in love with Daryl Hannah's mermaid character, Madison. The 1984 film is a beloved and whimsical entry in Hanks' impressive filmography. What some people don't know, however, is that the Oscar-winning actor could have appeared alongside a different co-star here: Diane Lane.
Speaking to Time about her career, Lane revealed that she turned down the part of Madison in "Splash." The reason? Nudity. "I was insecure about the nudity involved in playing a mermaid," Lane told the magazine. In hindsight, not taking the chance to star opposite Hanks probably hurt her career ("she tripped up her transition to better parts by turning down the comedy," Time noted), but her hesitation is understandable: After all, there are plenty of actors who came to regret filming nude scenes.
Julia Roberts (You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle)
Considering that their rise through the Hollywood ranks happened at around the same time, it seems strange that Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks haven't shared the screen more than they have. Early on, Meg Ryan took parts earmarked for Roberts in two of the biggest rom-coms of the '90s: "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail." Speaking to InStyle (via ABC News) in 2014, Roberts revealed that she had "been offered 'Sleepless in Seattle,' but couldn't do it." However, she commended the chemistry between Ryan and Hanks, comparing it to what she and Richard Gere had in "Pretty Woman."
In 2023, Roberts appeared on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" (via Variety) and discussed other roles that she had turned down, revealing how she said no to "You've Got Mail," as well. She doesn't regret turning down these films, as she believes that everything happens for a reason in Hollywood. In fact, in a strange twist of fate, Roberts only got the part of Shelby Eatenton Latcherie in "Steel Magnolias" because Ryan was busy making "When Harry Met Sally." It became a breakout role for Roberts, helping to establish her as a bankable star in Tinseltown.
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Elvis)
Baz Luhrmann's hip-shaking biopic "Elvis" stars Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll, with Tom Hanks playing his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. As the Los Angeles Times pointed out in a review of the film, "History takes a dim view of the man, and so does 'Elvis,' which topped the weekend box office and impishly casts Parker in the role of indignant, none-too-reliable narrator." At one point in time, Maggie Gyllenhaal was attached to the role of Gladys Presley, Elvis' loving mother. However, the role ultimately went to Australian actor Helen Thomson. But why did Gyllenhaal turn the role down? Well, according to Thomson, the COVID-19 pandemic played a part in this major casting shake-up.
"Elvis" was filmed in Australia in 2020. The virus was sweeping across the globe at the time, with many countries shutting their borders to curb the spread. With all the uncertainty, Gyllenhaal apparently didn't want to risk being away from her family for an extended period, especially since nobody knew what would happen next or for how long. "The role was initially cast with Maggie Gyllenhaal, and then Tom Hanks got COVID and Maggie pulled out because she was worried about being stuck here," Thomson told Cinema Australia. "So they had to look around for another Gladys and I got the part."