Winona Ryder Could Have Played Tom Cruise’s Wife In Jerry Maguire But Lost It To Renée Zellweger Owing To A Bizarre Reason & You Might Need A Moment To Process This!

Winona Ryder has been entertaining fans not only in the Americas but across the globe since the late 1980s. The Minnesota-born actress – who is currently known for playing Joyce Byers in Netflix’s fiction horror series Stranger Things, has starred in several career-defining films over the years like Beetlejuice, The Age of Innocence, Little Women, Mr. Deeds, and more. But did you know she was denied a role in the Oscar-nominated Jerry Maguire despite having it written for her?

In today’s throwback piece, we bring you some trivia about the Tom Cruise-led 1996 sports film and the bizarre reason why Winona was not given the role.

According to a Fandomwire report, ‘Jerry Maguire’ was initially envisioned with Winona Ryder and Tom Hanks as its leads. However, the ‘Forrest Gump’ had already committed to his 1996 comedy film ‘That Thing You Do.’ This led to the makers of the romantic sports comedy-drama bringing Tom Cruise on board as the titular character. Unfortunately, this casting change resulted in Winona losing the part even though she was interested in essaying the role.

During the casting process, several top actresses were considered for the part 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 see Tom Cruise’s chemistry with them.

As per the trivia on the film’s IMDb page, during the screen test of Cruise and Winona Ryder, the ‘Top Gun’ star and the ‘Stranger Things’ actress did not share any romantic chemistry. Then what vibe did they give off? They reportedly “looked like brother and sister” when standing together. Ouch! Winona being rejected ultimately resulted in Renée Zellweger getting the role – but it wasn’t an easy process.

As per IMDb, Zellweger auditioned three times to play Dorothy opposite Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. While at the Sundance Film Festival that year, she received a personal call from Cameron Crowe, who thanked her for her time and asked, “Well, do you want the job?”

Directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe, Jerry Maguire starred Tom Cruise as the titular character alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell and Renée Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd. The 1996 film – inspired by an experience sports agent Leigh Steinberg had with client Tim McDonald during the 1993 NFL season, also starred Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt, and Regina King in pivotal parts.

It was released in North American theaters on December 13, 1996, and was a critical and commercial success. The film received several accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Cuba Gooding Jr), several Critics Choice Awards, a Golden Globe Award – that Tom Cruise returned, and more.

Do you think Winona Ryder would have made a better Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire when compared to Renée Zellweger?

Stay tuned to Koimoi for more news, updates, and throwback stories of your favorite stars and films.

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