The 'Forrest Gump' actor passed on the chance to lead the classic romcom because he went through a divorce and it made him struggle to understand the perspective of the character.
- Jun 19, 2023
AceShowbiz - Tom Hanks rejected the lead in "When Harry Met Sally..." because he was "happy" to be getting divorced. The "Elvis" actor's wife Rita Wilson - whom he married in 1988, a year after his marriage to Samantha Lewes ended - opened up the Oscar-winning star was offered Billy Crystal's role of Harry Burns in the classic 1989 film, but struggled to understand the perspective of the character.
"People probably don't know this, but Tom was offered 'When Harry Met Sally…', and he turned it down because he was going through a divorce and he was very happy to be not married. And so he could not understand that a person going through a divorce would have anything other than just like, 'I'm so happy,' " Rita said on "Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi"
Tom went on to star opposite "When Harry Met Sally..." star Meg Ryan in both 1993's "Sleepless in Seattle" and 1998's "You've Got Mail", and Rita explained her husband's casting in the former led to her landing her part as Suzy in the film.
The actress explained she "loved that script so much" when reading it with Tom and was a fan of how Nora Ephron had written Carrie Fisher's parts in "When Harry Met Sally...." and "This Is My Life".
When she ran into the filmmaker at a party, she asked if she could audition for the role of best friend Becky if Carrie wasn't going to be cast, and she was invited to try out. However, Rita "didn't get the part" but it led to her being cast as Suzy and she had a great time.
She said, "They gave it to Rosie [O'Donnell]. But Nora offered me the role of Suzy, this other character. And I was like, 'Oh yeah, that was a really good part of the script. I really like that character. There was a big monologue in there.' It was one of the most fun, most wonderful acting experiences I've ever had."
