Though virtually no one can relate to such a thing, it’s hard not to find some entertainment in hearing about a widely beloved treasure of film and television’s decision to decline an offer to go to space.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, Tom Hanks was asked about recent developments of the Blue Origin variety. “Is it true that you were asked to go to space by Jeff Bezos before William Shatner?” Kimmel asked the actor, whose affinity for space-related history is well-documented.
“Well, yeah, provided I pay,” Hanks, who quite famously experienced space-like realism when shooting Apollo 13, said around the 5:30 mark in the video up top. “And, you know, it costs like 28 million bucks or something like that. I’m doing good, Jimmy. I’m doing good. But I ain’t paying [28 million] bucks. You know what? We could simulate the experience of going to space right now. It’s about a 12-minute flight. Is that about it? We could all do it in our seats right here.”
The Finch star then gave the audience a demonstration of the experience before delivering his final word on the matter.
“I don’t need to spend 28 million bucks to do that. I can do that at home,” he joked, adding that—were such an experience free of cost—he might “do it on occasion” to experience “the joy of pretending I’m a billionaire.” See more above. Complex has reached out to Blue Origin for comment.
In October, 90-year-old William Shatner made history as the oldest person to ever reach space. Ahead of the New Shepard NS-18 mission, the Star Trek actor said the chance to see space for himself was “a miracle.”
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