It’s hard to imagine a role that could have been played by both Tom Hanks and Robert de Niro, but in reality, Hanks’ breakout role in Big was originally cast for the veteran Scorsese actor. Big premiered in 1988 as a fantasy comedy about a 12-year-old boy, Josh Baskin, who wishes to be “big.” The dream comes true, and the next morning Josh wakes up as a 30-year-old man who has to find a job, home, and way to navigate life as an adult with the maturity of a pre-teen.
Before Big, Tom Hanks had played roles in the '80s films Splash and Bachelor Party but wasn’t seen as a bonafide star until the positive reception of his boyish charm as Josh Baskin. Hanks was already 32 at the time Big premiered, but this didn’t stop him from going on a nearly 20-year run as one of the biggest actors in Hollywood who headlined major movies of the era. Hanks’ charm in Big as a grown man with simple, childish tendencies was also translated to his titular role as the simple-minded Alabaman in Forrest Gump, a role which saw him awarded his second Best Actor Oscar win in 1994.
Though imagining anyone but Tom Hanks playing the youthful Josh Baskin is nearly impossible, the transformative Robert de Niro was originally supposed to play the magically changed character. De Niro revealed in an interview on The Tonight Show that he was the first actor officially cast as Josh Baskin, but ended up backing out due to scheduling and negotiation conflicts, eventually starring in Midnight Run (1988) instead. Co-star Elizabeth Perkins confirmed the rumor in an interview with Andy Cohen, revealing that her original readings for the part of Susan were opposite de Niro. Perkins claimed the movie would have been much darker with de Niro’s mannerisms, making Big more of a “horror movie” than the light comedy from Tom Hanks.
By 1988, Robert de Niro was 44 years old and had already won an Academy Award for playing young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, entered the cultural lexicon with his “you talkin’ to me,” Taxi Driver ad-lib, and starred in five dark Martin Scorsese films. The baggage that de Niro would have brought to Josh Baskins takes away the light-hearted and childlike optimism and naivety that Hanks so brilliantly integrated. Additionally, de Niro was already 12 years older than Hanks was in the film, which makes the relationships with Billy and Susan even creepier. It’s much easier to imagine a young, fresh actor like Hanks effectively committing to the man-boy transition than de Niro, who was notable for aggressive, gangster roles.
Without the success of Big, the world may never have been graced with the plethora of roles by Tom Hanks for the next 40-odd years. The actor for Josh Baskins had to bring a charm that really made one believe he was mature for a 12-year-old but deeply naive for a 30-year-old. De Niro is an incredible actor who deserves his many Oscar wins and dramatic critical acclaim, but his comedy roles, like in Meet the Parents, work best when manipulating his baggage of a terrifyingly intimidating figure. De Niro’s casting also likely would have meant cutting out Big’s iconic piano dancing scene with Robert Loggia.