Tom Hanks Rejected Jeff Bezos' Invitation To Join Space Flight – Here's Why

Tom Hanks has turned down an offer by Jeff Bezos to join a Blue Origin flight to outer space. On Wednesday’s episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the Oscar winner explained why he rejected the offer.

Kimmel asked Hanks about the rumors that he was asked by the Amazon founder to join a space flight before William Shatner and Hanks said yes. "Well, yeah, provided I pay," he said.

The actor revealed that he decided not to join the 11-minute-long space flight because of the money. "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 paving 28 million bucks," he told Kimmel.

He then joked that they could simulate a space flight in the studio without having to pay that much. "It's about a 12 minute flight? Is that it? Okay, we could all do it in our seats right here," he said, before pretending to shake and bounce around in his chair as if he's in a spacecraft.

"I don't need to spend 28 million bucks to do that," he said, adding that he probably would have accepted Bezos' invitation if it was free.

After he turned down the offer, Shatner went on to become the oldest person to travel to space. He joined three other crew members aboard the New Shephard rocket for the NS-18 mission last month. The 90-year-old actor's space flight came three months after Bezos rode the same rocket and traveled to space for Blue Origin's first space flight with humans on board.

After the trip, Shatner revealed that catching a glimpse of the space was "unlike anything" he had ever experienced. "It's life-changing in its way, not because of the aerial adventure, but because of the people I'm meeting," he said.

Hanks was on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Wednesday to promote his upcoming film, "Finch." The film centers on a robot that lives on a post-apocalyptic earth, built to protect the life of his dying creator's dog. Directed by Miguel Sapochnik, it is set to hit the theaters Friday.