Robert DeNiro Was Originally Cast As Lead In Tom Hanks's Classic Movie Big

Actor Elizabeth Perkins recently revealed that Robert DeNiro was very nearly her co-star on the classic 1988 dramedy Big. On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Perkins says the only reason he didn't move forward with the role was due to "scheduling conflicts."

Perkins says she auditioned for her role opposite DeNiro, who "was more moody" than Tom Hanks, who later stepped in to play adult Josh Baskin, who is actually a young boy who wishes to be "big" and then ages into adulthood overnight. With Hanks, the movie was funny, light, and packed with many colorful moments like performing a duet on a foot-operated electronic keyboard. Perkins says a lot about how the movie would have been different with DeNiro by not saying a whole lot: "He was more moody… it was a little bit of a horror movie." Check out the clip of Perkins discussing it, shared online by the Bravo show.

DeNiro has long been a staple impression for comedian and more recently a go-to actor to use in deepfakes--so here's hoping some enterprising soul out there with a lot of time on their hands makes a contribution to the world by creating a feature-length deepfake of Big with DeNiro's face in for the Josh Baskins role. Either that, or maybe they could do reshoots with The Irishman's infamous digital de-aging technology?

Hanks's most recent film is News of the World, and he has at least three other movies on the horizon, including playing Geppetto in the live-action Pinocchio. DeNiro has two films currently in post-production. Perkins recently had a memorable run on the short-lived Netflix series Glow, playing Birdie Howard.