Tom Hanks Could Have Gone Into Space Before William Shatner, But He Had A Good Reason For Declining

William Shatner took an 11-minute journey into space, the final frontier, aboard cartoon super-villain Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin’s rocket ship last month, but apparently the captain wasn’t the first choice.

During Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Jimmmy Kimmel asked Tom Hanks, “Is it true that you were asked to go to space by Jeff Bezos before William Shatner?” The two-time Oscar winner replied, “Well, yeah, provided I pay.” Space isn’t cheap folks. “It costs like 28 million bucks or something like that. And I’m doing good, Jimmy — I’m doing good — but I ain’t paying 28 [million] bucks,” Hanks said. “You know what, we could simulate the experience of going to space right now.”

Hanks leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling, and started convulsing. “You do that for four minutes and then you get up” and float, he explained. Be sure to yell “whoa” a lot. After a few minutes of floating, it’s time to put your seatbelt back on and get ready for another four minutes of convulsing. “I don’t need to spend 28 million bucks to do that,” he joked. Besides, Hanks has already been to space. It’s not as fun the second time.

You can watch Hanks’ Kimmel interview above.

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