Tom Hanks turned down WHEN HARRY MEET SALLY because he didn’t understand the sadness of divorce

Tom Hanks AND Mega Ryan acted together in a few romantic comedies in the 90s in movies Joe vs. The volcano, Sleepless in SeattleAND You’ve got mail. But they almost had the opportunity to star together in the 1989 classic When Harry met Sally. Hanks was actually offered the lead role in the film, but he ended up turning it down because he didn’t understand the sadness of the divorce.

This little bit of information came from Hanks’ wife, Rita Wilson, during an interview with iHeart’s Table for Two Podcast with Bruce Bozzi. She said:

“People probably don’t know this, but Tom was offered When When Harry Met Sally, and he declined because he was going through a divorce and was very happy that he wasn’t married, and therefore couldn’t understand that a person through a divorce would something other than ‘I’m so happy.’”

Hanks divorced his first wife Samantha Lewes in 1987 and married Wilson in 1988. Billy Crystal eventually got the role and the movie is arguably better for it. Crystal was really great in that movie and it’s one of his favorite roles of him.

But it’s silly that Hanks turned it down because of that. He’s an actor, right? Can’t he act like divorce is a sad thing? The other funny thing is that the movie is not really about divorce!

The story begins in 1977 and follows college graduates Harry Burns (Crystal) and Sally Albright (Ryan) as they share a controversial road trip from Chicago to New York, during which they argue over whether men and women can ever truly be strictly platonic friends. . Ten years later, Harry and Sally meet again and form a friendship.

What do you think about this? Do you think Hanks would have been a good choice for the role? What do you think of his reasoning for rejecting it?

Source: Deadline