Why Tom Hanks turned down Jeff Bezos’s offer to go to space

Space travel comes at a price, even for one of the most famous people on the planet

Tom Hanks says he didn't want to pay the $28 million price tag for a chance to go go to space. AP

Tom Hanks has spoken about Jeff Bezos's out-of-this-world offer, a chance to go to space on his Blue Origin rocket. But the opportunity also came with an astronomic price tag.

"It costs like $28 million or something like that," the Finch star said, during an interview on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. "And I'm doing good, Jimmy, I'm doing good, but I ain't paying $28 million.

"You know what, we could simulate the experience of going to space right now," he then joked. “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 mimicked the flight experience by shaking his chair and said: “I don’t need to spend 28 million bucks to do that. I can do that at home."

When Kimmel asked if he would consider travelling into space if it was free, Hanks said: "I’d do it on occasion, just in order to experience the joy. Pretending I’m a billionaire."

Last month, Star Trek actor William Shatner became oldest person to fly to space.

The actor, 90, travelled with the Amazon founder's Blue Origin, during its second suborbital tourism flight on October 13.

Shatner, best known for playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television and film franchise, described the trip as similar to experiencing the difference between life and death, with the blue sky turning black as the rocket climbed higher.

“I’m so filled with emotion about what just happened. I hope I never recover from this – I hope I can maintain what I feel now. It’s so much larger than me.”