The Tom Hanks Classic That Dennis Quaid Regrets Turning Down

Penny Marshall's 1988 comedy smash-hit "Big" had a fun, fantastical premise. A 12-year-old boy named Josh (David Moscow) is tired of being treated like a kid, feeling that the world condescends to people of his age group all too often. Despondent, Josh visits a carnival and finds a coin-operated fortune-teller/wish-granting machine called Zoltar. He inserts his money and wishes to be "big," only to awaken the morning after in the body of Tom Hanks, who was 32 at the time. Suddenly 20 years older, Josh flees his panicked mother (Mercedes Ruehl), who doesn't recognize him, and is forced to enter the adult work force to survive. The only person who knows his secret is his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton).

"Big" was a tour de force from everyone involved in its making and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Actor (for Hanks) and Best Original Screenplay (for Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg). The film was made for a middling $18 million at the time, but earned a whopping $151.7 million back at the box office.To put that in perspective, that's more money than the first "Die Hard" movie made that same year.

Since 1988, various magazines have published retrospectives on "Big," so its development is well-known. It was initially going to be a Steven Spielberg film starring Harrison Ford as Josh, but Spielberg passed on the project to work on "Empire of the Sun" instead. Eventually, Marshall came aboard and the net was cast to find an adult actor who could play a 12-year-old boy. The role of Josh was offered to just about every big star in Hollywood at the time. Warren Beatty was approached for the film, as was Matthew Modine. Likewise, Kevin Costner, Sean Penn, Steve Guttenberg, John Travolta, Jeff Bridges, Gary Busey, and Andy García all either auditioned or were considered for the part, but were each turned down for various reasons.

In an interview with PopEater (transcribed by Digital Spy in 2011), Dennis Quaid confirmed that he, too, came close to starring in "Big" before passing on the project.

In 1988, Quaid was already a notable movie star. He had previously appeared in the Oscar-worthy drama "The Right Stuff" in 1983, on top of playing the lead or co-lead in films like "Dreamscape," the underrated "Enemy Mine," "The Big Easy," and "Innerspace." He was very much in-demand, which also meant he could be picky about the projects he chose. He admitted that he turned down "Big" so he could take a different job, explaining:

"I think I turned it down for something else. [...] Well, I can't remember what it was. I also turned down 'Peggy Sue Got Married,' that turned out to be a good choice. But it was turning down [Francis Ford] Coppola."

Quaid, to postulate a career timeline, starred in "Everybody's All American" and the remake of "D.O.A." in 1988 before playing Jerry Lee Lewis in "Great Balls of Fire!" in 1989. It's most likely that he turned down "Big" for one of those movies.

In the PopEater interview, Quaid said that he didn't regret turning down the role and was happy for the film's success. He remarked that his only career regrets were not being able to work with some of his favorite directors, like David Lean. This was a change of attitude compared to a 2002 interview Quaid conducted with Larry King, wherein he said that he did indeed regret turning down "Big." At the time, he didn't even remember why. "Why did I turn down 'Big?' I forgot. I had good reason for it, but I just can't remember what it was," he confessed. 

It's no wonder he doesn't remember. The late 1980s were, after all, a successful but rough time for Quaid, who has spoken candidly about his anorexia and cocaine addiction back then. He kicked both in the 1990s, found religion, and continues to act to this day.

Tom Hanks, meanwhile, also seems to be doing fine.