Tom Hanks turned down “When Harry Met Sally” because he was happily divorced and couldn’t relate.
Hanks, 66, and Meg Ryan, 61, almost had a rom-com trifecta after starring in 1993’s “Sleepless in Seattle” and 1998’s “You’ve Got Mail,” both written and directed by Nora Ephron.
But Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson, 66, revealed that the “Forrest Gump” star declined the offer to act alongside Ryan in 1989’s “When Harry Met Sally” — also written by Ephron — because he couldn’t relate to the character of Harry Burns being depressed post-divorce.
“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,” Hank’s current wife said on the iHeart Podcast “Table for Two With Bruce Bozzi” podcast.
“And so he could not understand that a person going through a divorce would have anything other than just like, ‘I’m so happy.’ But I loved that script,” Wilson continued.
Samantha Lewes and Tom Hanks divorced in 1987. Bei/Shutterstock
Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks during the “Dragnet” premiere on June 23, 1987. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesHanks and his first wife, Samantha Lewes, got married in 1978 when Hanks was 21 years old and eventually divorced in 1987.
Hanks and Wilson married in 1988 after meeting on the set of “Volunteers.” Lewes died of bone cancer in 2002.
“When Harry Met Sally” director Rob Reiner considered many actors for the role of Harry, including Albert Brooks, Richard Dreyfuss and Michael Keaton, before ultimately landing on Billy Crystal.
Billy Crystal in “When Harry Met Sally.” ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in “When Harry Met Sally.” ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection