20 actors who rejected successful films 

3rd Annual Academy Museum Gala - Arrivals - Source: Getty
3rd Annual Academy Museum Gala - Arrivals - Source: Getty

18) Tom Hanks - Jerry Maguire

The Academy's 14th Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood, honoring Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, Carol Littleton, and Michelle Satter - Source: Getty
The Academy's 14th Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood, honoring Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, Carol Littleton, and Michelle Satter - Source: Getty

Tom Hanks was on offer for the role of Jerry Maguire, the lead in a movie about an agent's experience in his personal life and professional career change. Hanks declined it because the character did not appeal to him as a challenging one. The movie went to Tom Cruise, who bagged an Academy Award nomination for that role. Hanks starred instead as an executive working for FedEx who ends up stranded on a desert island in Cast Away, becoming one of his most memorable films.

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Edited by Apoorva Jujjavarapu