Without a doubt, Tom Hanks is one of the most beloved actors in history, with a whole slew of notable credits to his name and two Academy Awards under his belt. Nevertheless, even with the many iconic roles he gifted audiences over his decades-long career and the many more Hanks roles to come, there still could've been lots of others.
The actor's big breakthrough came in 1984 with Ron Howard's mermaid comedy Splash, which Hanks soon followed up with his first Oscar-nominated performance in Penny Marshall's Big. This triggered a run of comedic turns in films like A League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle, until in 1993 he played a gay lawyer with AIDS suing his firm for discrimination in Philadelphia. The role garnered Hanks his first Oscar, a win followed up the very next year with another for Forrest Gump.
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Since then, the actor has won virtually every accolade possible, from Emmy wins and Tony nominations to a Kennedy Center Honor and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. It seems unfathomable to imagine Tom Hanks fitting any more credits into his sterling career, but nonetheless here are the major films he turned down over the years.
This Rob Reiner-directed, Nora Ephron-penned romantic comedy is one of the genre's absolute finest, with electric chemistry between its stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. Though Hanks would eventually share the screen with Ryan in multiple films, most notably Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, he turned this project down for being too "lightweight." Light or not, When Harry Met Sally went on to become a classic, with Crystal garnering a Golden Globe nod for the role and Ephron nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay.
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Terrence Malick's astounding war epic went into production around the same time as Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning Saving Private Ryan, and both films had their eyes on Hanks as their star. It goes without saying that once Hanks decided to commit to the latter, there was no way to juggle both concurrent and physically-demanding shoots, so the role of Lt. Col. Gordon Tall went to Nick Nolte. Though Hanks received another Best Actor nomination in the star-studded cast of Saving Private Ryan and the film endures as a classic to this day, Malick's The Thin Red Line remains an equally magnificent, albeit more muted, alternative.
When director Oliver Stone began developing the biopic Nixon, Hanks was one of the first actors approached to star as the 37th President of the United States. Despite the hefty role, Hanks chose to turn his attention instead to Apollo 13 and the start of his tenure as Woody in Toy Story. The film Nixon went on to bomb at the box office, but still received four Oscar nominations, including one for Hopkins.
Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 film Jack is the story of a boy who ages four-times faster than usual and, coming on the heels of Hanks' Oscar-nominated performance in Big, the director thought it'd be a perfect match for the then-comedy superstar. Hanks turned it down, not wanting to repeat himself, and the role went to Robin Williams, who interestingly enough was also in the running for Hanks' role in Big. Jack went on to be a critical failure and remains a bizarre blemish in the filmographies of its remarkably talented director and star.
Tom Cruise's performance in Jerry Maguire is one of the movie star's best, earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Still, writer-director Cameron Crowe has gone on the record saying that all the while he was writing the film's screenplay, he was imagining Hanks in the title role. Alas, the writing process was long and arduous and by the time Crowe was ready to start production, Hanks had two Oscars under his belt and was approaching 40, which was too old for the role. When asked about his possible role in the film, Hanks responded, "I think you look at it now and it couldn't have been anybody other than Tom Cruise."
Currently ranked #1 in IMDb's Top Rated Movies, The Shawshank Redemption eventually found its Andy Dufresne in Tim Robbins. However, according to Vanity Fair, director Frank Darabont first offered the role to a whole host of movie stars, including Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, and, of course, Tom Hanks, who turned it down in favor of Forrest Gump. Both were well-represented at the 1995 Academy Awards, but Gump went on to win six Oscars, including Hanks' second for Best Actor.
It may be near-impossible to imagine anyone else but Keanu Reeves in the lead role of this iconic action flick about a bus set to explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. Nevertheless, director Jan de Bont only cast him after being turned down by both Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks. Reeves, who was most well-known in the 90s for Point Break and Bill and Ted, seized the opportunity to jump-start a career in action films that would peak twice with the Matrix and John Wick trilogies. Hanks, on the other hand, has still avoided a straight-on action thriller.
By this point, Hanks feels like one of the last movie stars left who hasn't appeared in a superhero film. However, after Michael Keaton stepped down following Tim Burton's second Bat-outing, Hanks found himself on a list of potential replacements featuring everyone from Daniel Day-Lewis to Kurt Russell. Hanks declined the role, continuing to focus on more dramatic material, and the candy-colored, Val Kilmer-led Batman Forever went on to become the butt of jokes for years to come.
Though Hanks' breakout role as Josh Baskin earned the actor his first Oscar nomination, he was initially unavailable for this classic comedy about a boy who successfully wishes to be "big." Busy filming Dragnet and Punchline, the actor was passed over for Robert De Niro, despite being director Penny Marshall's first choice for the role. When that Oscar winner's going-rate was decreed too high, Marshall considered a whole slew of other contenders, including Kevin Costner, John Travolta, and Sean Penn. Luckily, Hanks became available right before production, and Marshall wound up with her first choice after all, kickstarting Hank's unparalleled career in movies that continues to this very day.
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