If Jeff Bezos really wanted to put Tom Hanks in space for some kind of weird “Apollo 13” fantasy, he could’ve at least footed the bill.
Jimmy Kimmel asked the “Finch” star Tuesday if it was true that the billionaire Amazon founder, who recently sent actor William Shatner up on a brief spaceflight, also asked Hanks if he was interested.
“Well, yeah, provided I pay!” Hanks said, explaining why he had no interest in playing Woody to Bezos’ Buzz Lightyear.
“You know, it cost 28 million bucks or something like that,” Hanks said. “And I’m doing good, Jimmy, I’m doing good. But I ain’t paying 28 [million] bucks.”
Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin has declined to publicly state just how much it costs to fly on its distinctively shaped craft, but The New York Times reported in October that Bezos said the company is nearing $100 million in sales.
Hanks, for his part, seemed to think it’s absurd to spend so much money on a relatively short thrill.
“You know what, we could simulate the experience of going to space right now,” he told Kimmel’s audience Tuesday. “It’s about a 12-minute flight, is that about it? Twelve-minute flight? OK. We could all do it in our seats right here.”
Hanks then snarkily simulated the in-flight experience, which, according to him, involves a lot of reclining and flopping around as the forces of physics bludgeon you.
“I don’t need to spend 28 million bucks to do that. I can do that at home,” he said.
Kimmel later asked Hanks if he would consider spaceflight if it were free.
“I’d do it on occasion, just in order to experience the joy. Pretending I’m a billionaire,” Hanks joked.
Shatner, 90, became the oldest person to fly into space during last month’s Blue Origin flight. The “Star Trek” star seemed deeply affected by the trip, saying Bezos had given him “the most profound experience.”
In July, Bezos also had quite the reaction to going to space for the first time, telling the audience at a press conference after his maiden flight: “I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer, because you guys paid for all of this.”