20 Things You Didn’t Know About The Green Mile
14. Casting Paul Edgecomb
Both Michael Keaton and Michael Douglas were considered for the role of Paul Edgecomb, head of the prison guards, while John Travolta was actually offered the role, but turned it down.
Eventually, Tom Hanks took the part as a personal favour to Frank Darabont. He’d been offered the role of Andy Dufrezne in The Shawshank Redemption five years earlier, but had declined at the time as he was more interested in the title role in Forrest Gump.
Happily, when Frank Darabont had lunch with Stephen King and mentioned the fact of Hanks' casting, the author was over the moon - Hanks had been the guy he'd had in mind for Edgecomb all along.