When you think of the best movies of the 1990s, and even perhaps of all time, the film Forrest
Gump likely comes to mind.
Released in 1994, the movie won praise from critics and audiences alike.
It also racked up a ton of awards, including six Oscar wins and three Golden Globe wins.
It also received countless other awards and nominations.
Of course, when you think of Forrest Gump, you can’t help but imagine a visual of Tom
Hanks in the lead role.
And your mind likely goes to his trademark, quirky, southern drawl.
Hanks gave a virtuoso performance in the movie, as did his incredible costars like Robin Wright,
Mykelti Williamson, and Gary Sinise.
Each of these actors made an indelible mark of excellence on the film, elevating it to
higher levels with each dramatic and poignant scene.
But did you know that Forrest Gump nearly had an entirely different troupe of actors
and actresses playing all the lead roles?
It might sound hard to believe, but Forrest Gump, just like most Hollywood movies, went
through the ups and downs of the casting process before its casting team settled on the group
who appeared in the movie.
In this video, we’ll take a look at several of the big-name stars who were nearly cast
as these memorable characters in Forrest Gump.
Some of them are definitely going to surprise you!
So join Facts verse as we go over the actors who turned down roles in Forrest Gump, and
why they regret it!
Body Chevy Chase
Veteran funnyman Chevy Chase is best known for being on the first season of Saturday
Night Live, before going on to be a bona fide box office star in the 1980s.
His dry sarcasm and ability to do physical comedy made him a widely appealing figure.
Of course, as it turns out, his propensity to treat others poorly and the fact that he
was hard to work with (and apparently racist) made it so his stardom didn't last.
But in his heyday, Chevy was one of the biggest movie stars around.
Certainly in the comedy genre.
Audiences ate up his movies with delight, such as Fletch, Caddyshack, and the National
Lampoon's Vacation series.
He even got his own late-night talk show, but that, unfortunately, was dead on arrival
and was quickly canceled.
And while Chase’s reputation for being difficult, if not downright mean, resulted in his career
plummeting in the last few decades, he still has managed to keep a decent career going.
He’s been in a slew of movies, usually in supporting comedic roles, and was a regular
cast member on the popular sitcom, Community.
(It was there that he was accused of saying racist things to fellow cast member Donald
Glover.)
So when Chevy Chase was reportedly offered the role early on in the pre-production phase,
he hopefully took it seriously.
Because even by 1993, things had begun to slow down for him.
So one can imagine being asked to play the lead in an epic book adaptation that was likely
to garner Academy Awards if done right would be quite tempting.
But, for unknown reasons, Chevy turned the part down.
While we haven’t seen any official quotes from him saying that he regretted the move,
it’s hard not to think he would consider that rejection a career misstep!
John Travolta Believe it or not, John Travolta missed out
on playing Forrest Gump, but he actually does not regret it.
Why?
Because he turned it down to be in Quentin Tarantino's iconic film, Pulp Fiction.
And playing the role of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction was a shot in the arm for Travolta’s
career, which had been floundering for quite a while at that point.
But let’s back up … John Travolta has been an out-and-out star since the 1970s.
He burst onto the scene playing high school student Vinnie Barbarino in the classic sitcom,
Welcome Back, Kotter.”
From there, Travolta's rise as not only a great actor but a Hollywood heartthrob was
quick and impressive.
Turns in classic movies like Saturday Night Fever, Urban Cowboy, and The Boy In The Plastic
Bubble catapulted Travolta from being a regular on a sitcom to being a household name.
And his fashion and dance moves epitomized the late 70's and early 80's.
Flash forward a decade or so, and things had become quite different.
Travolta had passed through the era of being an ‘it’ star in Hollywood and was having
trouble getting his traction back.
Enter Quentin Tarantino, who cast John in Pulp Fiction.
And the rest is history, John immediately was back on the A-list, where he’s remained
ever since.
He’s had a career spanning five decades, and he’s still at it.
Of course, none of that historic comeback would have happened if it wasn’t for his
incredible job as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction.
Or at least, we don’t think so.
It’s hard to say what would have happened if he’s decided to say yes to playing Forrest
Gump instead.
Certainly, both movies went on to be legendary films that are still beloved today.
But would John have been a better fit than Tom Hanks?
Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
Interestingly enough, both actors received Oscar nominations for Best Actor for their
roles in Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump.
(Hanks ended up winning though.)
But clearly, John can’t reasonably second guess his decision, given what it did to his
career.
In fact, he said to MTV, “If I didn't do something Tom Hanks did, then I did something
else that was equally interesting or fun…
I feel good about some I gave up because other careers were created.”
Before we tell you about more actors who turned down the movie Forrest Gump, be sure to give
this video a like and subscribe to Facts Verse if you haven’t already!
Ice Cube, Dave Chapelle, and David Allan Grier An iconic part of Forrest Gump is the character
Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue.
He’s Forrest’s best friend and confidant, and he’s played expertly by Mykelti Williamson.
Williamson was a relative unknown at the time of the movie’s release, but his incredible
performance turned him into a star overnight.
Interestingly, the Bubba character in the book was quite different than how Williamson
portrayed him.
The first draft of the screenplay apparently mirrored how the character was originally
written, which was that he was more of a big brother to Forrest.
He was significantly smarter than Forrest and had more snark as well.
But Williamson didn’t agree with this take.
He felt the character should be one of Forrest’s equals, and that for the emotional core of
their relationship to really play, they had to be of similar intelligence and capability.
Mykelti ended up playing him as a character that nowadays would be identified as neurodivergent.
And his heart of gold made Forrest immediately befriend him, and immediately root for him.
This ended up being a fantastic choice by Williamson, who received accolades and praise
for his portrayal.
But surprisingly enough, he almost never got the chance.
Director Robert Zemeckis had a few names in mind when he originally signed on to the project.
His first offer went to a young Dave Chapelle, who was far from the major comedian and star
he is today.
But Chapelle turned the role down.
His take was that Bubba was a character written with racially demeaning stereotypes, and he
didn’t want to further that narrative.
Zemeckis then turned to his two other choices, David Allan Grier and Ice Cube.
Grier turned it down, later saying, “Listen, if I’m going to be playing a mentally challenged
person, I got to be the lead, I can’t be the mentally challenged sidekick.”
Ice Cube turned it down as well, for similar reasons, and because he generally focused
on playing tough guy characters to fit with his rapper persona.
But it's been said that both Grier and Ice Cube have since regretted the decision, after
seeing the juggernaut that Forrest Gump became.
Jodie Foster, Demi Moore, and Nicole Kidman Anyone who has seen Forrest Gump has marveled
in the performance given by Robin Wright.
She was so compelling, that most of us couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it.
But that almost didn’t end up happening.
On IMDB, in the trivia section for the movie, it lists three huge stars that were apparently
considered for the role.
It’s a little unclear why Jodie Foster, Demi Moore, and Nicole Kidman all turned down
the role.
But they did, and it’s possible they regret it today.
But that doesn’t seem AS likely, considering all three have had incredible careers since
then.
And in the 1990s they were all highly sought-after talents.
So it seems most likely they would have turned down the role of Jenny in Forrest Gump simply
because they were busy with so many other projects.
Foster was brilliant in the movie Nell, which came out around the same time as Forrest Gump.
She got a Screen Actor’s Guild award for her performance.
Demi more acted in 3 blockbusters in the early 90’s: A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal,
and Disclosure.
And Nicole Kidman filmed Far and Away with then-husband Tom Cruise, as well as Malice
in 1993.
So it seems most likely these incredible actresses simply didn't have time to play Jenny.
But perhaps the movie was better for it since it allowed Robin Wright to shine in the role.
Kevin Bacon Gary Sinise gave an incredible performance
as Lt. Dan, Forrest’s platoon leader in the Vietnam War.
It helped establish himself as an acting powerhouse, and he's had a long and impressive career
since then.
But he wasn't the first choice.
Ellen Lewis, who was the casting director for the film, has since revealed that Robert
Zemeckis had his eyes set on Kevin Bacon for the role of Lt. Dan.
But Bacon, for whatever reason, turned the part down.
The producers then went through a long round of casting auditions before finding their
man in Sinise.
Now it’s time to hear from you.
Which one of these actors was the most surprising to hear about?
Let us know in the comments section below.
And before you go, be sure to give this video a like, and subscribe to Facts Verse if you
haven’t already.
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