Woody Harrelson Reveals He Turned Down Tom Cruise’s Oscar-Nominated Lead Role in ‘Jerry Maguire’

When you think of Woody Harrelson, you think of his classic roles in Cheers, Natural Born Killers, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, and more. However, there’s one job the actor said no to: Jerry Maguire, which ended up going to some guy named Tom Cruise.

The 58-year-old recently sat-down for an interview with Esquire, and revealed the head-turning news. “I was offered — what’s the ‘Show me the money’ movie? Jerry Maguire? I was offered Jerry Maguire, and I said to Jim [James L. Brooks, one of the film’s producers], ‘Nobody is going to give a s–t about an agent’” the A-lister recalled. Eventually, the role instead went to Tom, now 57 — and let’s just say it happened to be one of the actor’s most memorable performances.

The film, released in 1996, ended up grossing $273 million worldwide and added another big-time film to Tom’s year — he also released Mission: Impossible around the same time. It’s not all bad for Woody, who has been nominated for three Oscars, and will soon be seen in the sequel to one of his most popular movies, Zombieland. Although, the star does admit that he wasn’t too sure of that project from the get go. “My agent sent me the script, and I said, ‘Zombies, dude? Really? Has it come to this?’ And he said, ‘Will you please just read it?’ Finally, I did, and I’m like, ‘Damn. That’s good writing’” Woody told the outlet.

When the True Detective alum isn’t busy deciding which roles to take, he is focusing on being a family man. Woody tied the knot with his wife, Laure Louie, in 2008. The happy pair now have three kids — daughters Deni, 26, Zoe, 22, and Makani, 13.

It is quite interesting to imagine how different Jerry McGuire would have been with Woody in it. Well, it certainly seems like everything happens for a reason!