10 Movie Roles Originally Intended For Other Actors
5. Tom Hanks – Jerry Maguire In Jerry Maguire
Tom Cruise's career spans decades, and he is well known for so many roles, it's hard to say which is his most famous. He's Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible franchise, but he was Maverick in Top Gun. There are so many roles, it's hard to nail down just one, but there is an interesting standout.
Jerry Maguire was something of an outlier for the actor in that it isn't an action role, and it could have been played by just about anyone. That's not to say Cruise wasn't perfect for the role, but he wasn't the first choice, which begs the question: who turned down Jerry Maguire?
It was none other than Tom Hanks, the so-called nicest guy in Hollywood! Not only was Hanks offered the role, but the director also said in an interview that the role was written with Hanks in mind.
Hanks had to pass on Maguire since he was directing his passion project, That Thing You Do! Eventually, Hanks spoke about passing on the part and said he couldn't have done it justice like Cruise's performance. In a word, he called the movie "perfect" and felt it was properly cast without him.