Winona Ryder Could Have Been Liked By Tom Cruise In Jerry Maguire, But The Producers Got Family Vibes From Their Screen Test: “They Looked Like Brother & Sister” (Photo Credit – Wikipedia ; IMDb )
Winona Ryder has been delighting fans not only in America but around the world since the late 1980s. The Minnesota-born actress – currently known for playing Joyce Byers in Netflix’s fantasy series Stranger Things, has starred in a number of films over the years. many such as Beetlejuice, The Age of Innocence, Little Women, Mr. Deeds, and more. . But did you know that he was turned down for the part in the Oscar-nominated Jerry Maguire despite writing for him?
In today’s episode, we bring you some details about the 1996 Tom Cruise-directed action movie and the surprising reason why Winona wasn’t offered the role.
According to a report by Fandomwire, ‘Jerry Maguire’ was originally considered with Winona Ryder and Tom Hanks as the leads. However, ‘Forrest Gump’ had already committed to his 1996 comedy film ‘That Thing You Do.’ This prompted the makers of the romantic drama to bring in Tom Cruise as the titular character. Unfortunately, this change caused Winona to lose the part even though she was interested in writing the part.
Meanwhile, several actresses were considered for the role of Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire, including Patricia Arquette, Kate Beckinsale, Bridget Fonda, Winona Ryder, Marisa Tomei, Cameron Diaz, Uma Thurman, Jennifer Lopez, and Renée Zellweger, and several screen tests were conducted to Let’s see Tom Cruise’s chemistry with them.
According to trivia on the film’s IMDb page, during Cruise’s tryst with Winona Ryder, the ‘Top Gun’ star and the ‘Stranger Things’ actress did not share romantic chemistry. So what kind of vibe did he give off? It is said that they “looked like brother and sister” standing together. Wow! Winona’s rejection eventually led to Renée Zellweger taking the role – but it wasn’t easy.
According to IMDb, Zellweger tried three times to play Dorothy opposite Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. While at the Sundance Film Festival that year, she received a call from Cameron Crowe, who thanked her for her time and asked, “Well, do you want the job?”
Directed, written, and produced by Cameron Crowe, Jerry Maguire featured Tom Cruise as the titular character alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell and Renée Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd. The 1996 film – inspired by sports assistant Leigh Steinberg’s client Tim McDonald during the 1993 NFL season, also featured Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt, and Regina King in key roles.
It was released in North American theaters on December 13, 1996, and was a critical and commercial success. The film received many honors, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Cuba Gooding Jr), several Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globe Award – which Tom Cruise returned, and more.
Do you think Winona Ryder would have made a better Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire compared to Renée Zellweger?
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