“The Giants poster on the wall, the Yankees game, that was me,” he said. “He showed up with a backpack and a hat on and he was just really down to earth.”įor the sake of authenticity, Marshall built the Josh character around the real-life Moscow. “The producers were nervous for him because he refused to take a limo to the set and said he would just take the subway,” said Moscow.
Moscow and Hanks, of course, could not be in any of the same scenes, but Hanks’ nice guy reputation was already filmdom lore. Marshall recalled demanding that Moscow, a fellow Bronx, New York native, “stop flipping” multiple times on-set. They built what they call a ‘flipper’ – a band attached to the tooth that I had to wear in my mouth during scenes but I could pop it in and out of my mouth if I wanted to.” “I was very late in losing my teeth, and I remember production lost their minds. “In the first week of shooting I lost a tooth,” said Moscow. Moscow’s hair was dyed slightly darker and he wore green contacts in order to better resemble Hanks. Months later, when Hanks came aboard, Moscow got a callback. It was the child actor’s second audition ever.
#BIG ELIZABETH PERKINS AND TOM HANKS MOVIE#
It was one of 1988’s top-grossing hits, and the first movie directed by a woman to break the $100 million box office mark.Īctor David Moscow, who played young Josh, told CNN that he originally auditioned for the role of Josh’s best friend, Billy. Not only were three other body-switching movies currently in production (“Vice Versa,” “Like Father, Like Son,” and “18 Again”), but “Big” was the last one out of the gate that year because the crew had to wait for Hanks to become available.ĭespite those odds, “Big” garnered Hanks his first Best Actor Oscar nomination and the movie earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
The former “Laverne and Shirley” actress thought the former “Bosom Buddies” star’s “sweet, innocent face” would be a good fit.īut there was big trouble for Marshall, whose career as a director was at stake. Marshall knew Hanks from their days as sitcom stars on the Paramount lot. It was only her second directorial effort, and she soon found A-listers vying for the part of Josh. It’s hard to imagine Robert DeNiro in the man-child role of Josh Baskin, but DeNiro was, in fact, attached to the role prior to backing out in negotiations.ĭeNiro’s interest in the film validated the project for Marshall. The tale of a boy whose diminutive stature prevents him from enjoying what he perceives to be the spoils of maturity makes a wish to be “big” at a carnival, only to wake up the next day as a 30-year-old man. So I decided to go with someone who’s a behavioral actor – Bob DeNiro.”
“Tom Hanks was my first choice but he said ‘no,’ ” director Penny Marshall told CNN, “and so did everyone else because there were other movies with the same premise. The movie “Big” is celebrating its 25th anniversary, but the 1988 blockbuster almost didn’t become the movie beloved by audiences today.įor starters, Tom Hanks originally turned down the lead, writers were seriously considering the title “When I Grow Up,” and producers had trouble attaching a director to the picture.
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