Robert De Niro Was Originally Cast In ‘Big’ Instead Of Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins Claims

It would have been a whole different vibe in the film Big if a major casting decision hadn’t come unraveled.

Actress Elizabeth Perkins, who played adult Josh’s love interest in the 1988 film, appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and revealed that Robert De Niro was originally cast in the role that Tom Hanks made famous.

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“Robert De Niro was actually cast in the role of Josh in the movie Big.” Perkins said. “It fell apart because he had a scheduling conflict, and then they went to Tom Hanks. It’s like a totally different movie in my brain with Robert De Niro.”

Perkins actually auditioned with De Niro for her role in the film.

“He was more moody. It was more of a — a little more of a horror movie. Robert De Niro wandering around the streets of New York,” Perkins said. “What Tom Hanks brought to it was so much lighter.”

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