The TV show Tom Hanks refused to star in: “I’d just as soon not”
In the rarefied air of the most successful stars in the highly competitive film industry, Tom Hanks occupies a space that very few have ever entered.
Be it his numerous collaborations with Steven Spielberg, such as Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me If You Can, or his capitalisation of the rom-com boom in the 1990s with global hits like You’ve Got Mail, Hanks knows exactly what makes the box office tick. While he has taken on more eclectic projects in recent years, it was his incredible run as a young star that gave him the creative liberty to do so.
But as all actors eventually are faced with the conundrum of choosing their projects, and by extension, shaping their legacy, Hanks was plagued with a similar question just as he was working on his breakthrough role in Bosom Buddies. The American sitcom is now mostly remembered for kickstarting Hanks’ rise to stardom, but his trajectory could have looked very different.
In an extensive conversation with Oprah about the various chapters in his journey as a Hollywood star, the actor was asked about the ability to say no to different projects that came across his desk. According to Hanks, he learned how to say no when the prospect of appearing in another popular American show, Fantasy Island, was suddenly sprung on him.
Explaining why he had to turn it down, Hanks said: “I had to say no to Fantasy Island back when I was doing Bosom Buddies… I got an offer in between our two grand seasons of Bosom Buddies, and I said, ‘You know, I’m not going to do Fantasy Island.’ They said, ‘What are you talking about? What are you doing instead?'”.
Even though Fantasy Island did not appeal to Hanks, he did appear on The Love Boat, which, as the name suggests, revolves around putting people on a boat and waiting for romantic and dramatic tensions to rise. A concept that now serves as a precursor to many of the biggest reality TV shows around, Hanks’s experience on The Love Boat was what dissuaded him from agreeing to do Fantasy Island.
The actor said, “I did a Love Boat! And based on my trip on the Love Boat, I said, ‘I’d just as soon not do Fantasy Island.’ Somewhere in the middle of my career, there came a moment when I said, ‘I’m not going to play pussies anymore.’ Up until then, I’d made a career out of playing ordinary guys who couldn’t figure out how things work. After I did A League of Their Own, I took a year off from making any artistic decisions.”
His choice to rethink the direction in which his career was heading was crucial in ensuring his continuing success at the top of Hollywood. In recent years, he has been more than content to take a step back from leading roles and contribute to ensemble projects, such as Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, which, unfortunately, will only be remembered as a hollow piece of shit addition to both Anderson’s and Hanks’s oeuvres.
