Billy Crystal ultimately played Harry in the iconic romantic comedy after Tom declined the opportunity, starring alongside Meg Ryan, who portrayed Harry's love interest, Sally Albright.
- June 16, 2023
AceShowbiz - Tom Hanks could've starred in "When Harry Met Sally", but he declined to play its leading role due to a personal matter. The actor's wife Rita Wilson spilled the reason in the Tuesday, June 13 episode of iHeartPodcasts' "Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi".
"People probably don't know this, but Tom was offered 'When Harry Met Sally' " Rita divulged. "[He] turned it down because he was going through a divorce and he was very happy to be not married."
"So he could not understand that a person going through a divorce would [feel] anything other than just, like, 'I'm so happy,' " she continued with a laugh.
After Tom declined the project, Billy Crystal ultimately played Harry in the iconic romantic comedy. He starred alongside Meg Ryan, who portrayed Harry's love interest Sally Albright.
The film's director, Rob Reiner, has previously divulged other actors who were in the running to play Harry. When appearing on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2016, he mentioned that both Tom and Albert Brooks were among the actors he considered for the part.
Rob also said he was nervous to cast Billy due to their close friendship. "Now to be completely honest, and Billy knows this ... He was my best friend and I was nervous about doing this with my best [friend]," he explained. "What if this doesn't work? What is this gonna do?"
