Why Did Tom Hanks Turn Down Jeff Bezos For This Huge Opportunity?

Back in October, William Shatner became the oldest person ever to leave Earth thanks to Jeff Bezos' aerospace company, Blue Origin. Shatner's trip to space took place just three months after the Amazon billionaire tested his New Shepard rocket himself in July and, as Captain Kirk enthused upon his descent back to Earth, the experience was "unlike anything they described." Calling it "life-changing in its way," per People, the 90-year-old revealed that his family actually tried to talk him out of it, but there was no way he wasn't going. "I said, 'I gotta go. Everything's fine; don't worry about it. It's very, very safe,'" he shared with People, recalling how he eventually told his loved ones to "save your breath."

But not everyone is as excited about the tourism space race that's heating up between billionaires Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk. Over the past few months, critics have commented on everything from the fact that so much money shouldn't be spent on space travel because there are more pressing issues to solve here on Earth, to a whistleblower reporting that Blue Origin has a toxic work culture. Then there are the critics who simply don't see the appeal of a short joy ride to space, including one Tom Hanks, who recently made his feelings about blasting off into zero gravity perfectly clear.

Tom Hanks stopped by "Jimmy Kimmel Live" earlier this week to promote his latest film, "Finch," but the two soon got talking about another hot topic: space. When Kimmel asked the Oscar-winner to confirm whether or not it was true that Jeff Bezos asked him to "go to space before William Shatner," Hanks revealed that it was, "provided I pay. You know, it costs like 28 million bucks or something like that," he said, quipping, "I'm doing good, but I ain't paying 28 [million] bucks!"

The "Sully" star then went on to show just how disinterested he was in the idea of joining a Blue Origin flight — or any other space mission, for that matter. Assuring Kimmel that they could "simulate the experience of going to space right now," Hanks invited the audience to lean back in their seats, tilt back their heads, and shake around. "You do that for four minutes," he said, wriggling around in his seat, "then you get up and you float." Sitting back up straight, Hanks lifted his arms and legs and pretended to be in zero gravity, enthusing, "This is fabulous!" Then he explained the experience would conclude with "another four minutes" of bouncing around. "I don't need to spend 28 million bucks to do that," he continued, noting, "I can do that at home!" He did, however, joke that if he were ever offered a free ticket, he might take it "just in order to experience the joy of pretending I'm a billionaire." Same.