Believe it or not, one of Tom Cruise’s most iconic roles wasn’t even intended for him.
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One of Cruise’s most quoted roles, Jerry Maguire, was originally written for an Oscar-winning actor. In the 1996 film, Cruise plays a struggling sports agent managing NFL player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr., who went on to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance). It’s hard to picture anyone else delivering those iconic lines—(“Show me the money!”) but apparently, another A-list actor almost had us at hello.
However, writer-director Cameron Crowe wrote the part of Jerry Maguire specifically for Tom Hanks.
“Tom Hanks wanted to do another movie with Jim [producer James L. Brooks, who produced Big],’ Crowe told Deadline in 2017. “He liked my stuff, and we had a couple of conversations after [1989’s] Say Anything. The idea was, let’s not be slaves to writing this as a Tom Hanks in capital letters movie, but let’s have Tom Hanks on our minds as a guy who would play Jerry Maguire.”
Why a Role for Tom Hanks Eventually Went to Tom Cruise
However, it seems Hanks eventually became a victim of his own success. As Crowe developed the project, Hanks starred in high-profile Oscar-winning films like Philadelphia and Forrest Gump.
“But as Hanks got more and more into that white hot heat of super stardom, I always did think, well, if Tom Hanks doesn’t do this, who would be the dream Jerry Maguire? More and more over time, that was Tom Cruise,” Crowe recalled.
Eventually, Crowe finished the script and showed it to Hanks. By then, yet another thing was on the horizon: Hanks wanted to direct.
“[Hanks] read it, and there was a conversation where he was torn. He wanted to [direct] That Thing You Do, but was incredibly positive about this script,” Crowe explained.
“We had a really great conversation, and hung up. Everybody was in Jim’s office, waiting to hear,” Crowe added. “Was Tom Hanks in or out? I walked in, said I had the greatest conversation with Tom Hanks. So, in? I say, no. Which means the Tom Hanks elixir was so strong I didn’t even realize he passed until after I’d hung up, basically.”
Yet Another High-Profile Actor was Considered for Jerry Maguire Before Cruise
That said, yet another high-profile actor was reportedly considered before Tom Cruise. According to a 2019 interview in Esquire, Woody Harrelson also turned down the role of Jerry Maguire.
Harrelson had previously collaborated with the film’s co-producer, James L. Brooks, on his 1990 play Brooklyn Laundry. When Brooks approached him directly about the role of Jerry Maguire, Harrelson dismissed the idea, believing a movie about an agent wouldn’t attract much interest. He later regretted the decision, as Jerry Maguire went on to earn $274 million at the box office and receive five Oscar nominations.
However, eventually Crowe managed to get in touch with Cruise about the project.
“We sent the script to him, and he reacted immediately,” Crowe told Deadline. “He was excited about the sports angle, the idea of playing an agent. I had never worked with anybody in that stratosphere, and friends of mine would say, watch out, they change your stuff. They’re really demanding.”
Cruise ended up being anything but demanding over the part, though.
“My first conversation with Tom after he read the script, he said, I’ll fly out there,” Crowe recalled. “I’ll sit down. I’ll read for you. You tell me if you think I’m right for the part. [Cruise] asked to audition. He came out, we sat and talked, and he said, well, let’s read this thing. He read the script out loud with Jim and me.”
Crowe also gushed over Cruise’s work ethic on the Jerry Maguire set.
“The guy could pivot, right and left, to this intimate, romantic comedy side of him that I couldn’t wait for people to see. We all knew he was building a character, but it was a generous performance; everybody got to shine around him,” Crowe recalled. “He would always be there for the off-camera part. He knew everybody’s lines. So the thing they say, where the vibe of the movie often flows from the first guy on the call sheet, that was very apparent on Jerry Maguire.”