The three Tom Hanks roles Bill Murray turned down: “I’m going to do a serious movie”
It’s funny to think how different certain movies would be if a different actor had taken on a role instead of the one who was inevitably cast. In some alternate universe, Bill Murray might have landed three Tom Hanks roles, but instead, he rejected them, inadvertently allowing his contemporary to win two Oscars – and the hearts of America – as a result.
Well, it’s not like Murray has ever struggled to gain admiration from audiences. His tenure as a beloved comedic star in the likes of Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day in the 1980s and ‘90s set him up for good, and even now, with a slew of allegations against him, Murray is somehow still pretty widely admired – and defended.
The actor’s history of working with the likes of slightly less ‘Hollywood’ directors, like Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson, has extended his legacy beyond that of classic comedies, and it’s safe to say that he is one of the industry’s most recognisable stars. But he could’ve had further iconic roles under his belt if he hadn’t turned them down, like Forrest Gump.
Talking to Howard Stern, the actor revealed that he “did have conversations” with Robert Zemeckis about the movie, but, of course, the role went to Hanks. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the titular character, who has gone down in cinematic history as one of the most beloved figures to ever grace our screens. “I think I had the original book and all that sort of stuff,” he added.
That’s not all, though. Just a year before Hanks won ‘Best Actor’ for Forrest Gump, he also won the prize for playing a man with AIDS in Philadelphia. The moving Jonathan Demme movie was a huge success, and Murray is still gutted that he didn’t end up playing Hanks’ role. “It was on the back burner. I would have liked to have done that one,” he explained. Yet, Demme ultimately chose Hanks.
While Murray could’ve no doubt played these roles well, it seems like everything worked out how it should have. I mean, could Forrest Gump ever have been anyone else besides Tom Hanks? It just doesn’t seem right to have someone like Murray playing Gump, whose childlike nature is vital to his character.
Long before Murray turned down these roles, though, he was offered an earlier Hanks part that he instantly rejected without even reading the script. It turned out to be a pretty pivotal film for Hanks, though, allowing him to take on a major part that would subsequently prepare him for the likes of Big and The Money Pit a few years later.
Splash, directed by Ron Howard, could’ve had Murray appear opposite Daryl Hannah instead of Hanks, but he wasn’t interested. After working with PJ Soles on Stripes, the two were initially in the running for the main roles in the mermaid comedy, but Murray was quick to shoot the actor’s suggestion down.
“He asked, ‘Is it a comedy?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and he flung [the script] across the room! As it’s sailing, I was thinking: ‘Please don’t hit somebody in the head or knock over a wine glass!’ It landed on the floor, luckily,” Soles revealed to Yahoo.
She added, “He said, ‘No, I’m going to do a serious movie after this. I’m done with comedies.’” So that was that, although his pledge to stay away from comedy didn’t last long. Soon, he was appearing in the likes of Little Shop of Horrors, Scrooged, and Ghostbusters II. Perhaps he just didn’t see himself as much of a romantic leading man.
