Garth Brooks has had one of the most successful careers of any country star in history, and his onstage chemistry translates to the screen, too: Just look at his unforgettable hosting gig on Saturday Night Live and his stint on the mid-1990s sitcom Empty Nest.
But the singer’s budding acting career never translated into big-budget movies, even though he was offered some roles.
In 2013, Brooks’ one-time production partner Lisa Sanderson filed a lawsuit against him claiming that Brooks’ ego stood in the way of his acting ambitions.
Anderson’s 2013 lawsuit sued Brooks for $425,000 in a Los Angeles court, alleging that he had caused financial damages to her by repeatedly turning down offers for work or making outrages demands of the studios. One of the offers he declined was a role in the 1996 movie Twister.
According to Indiewire, Brooks turned down Twister because the star of the movie was the tornado — not him — and he didn’t want to share the spotlight. He allegedly had similar reasoning for turning down a role in Saving Private Ryan: Namely, that he didn’t want to compete with Matt Demon and Tom Hanks for screen time.
Sanderson’s lawsuit came in response to a lawsuit against her from Red Strokes, the production company she and Brooks ran together. That company wound down its business in 2011, then sued her in an effort to recoup loans made to her from the company for close to $225,000.
Sanderson argued that those were gifts, not loans, but the court ruled in Brooks’ favor, awarding him $226,000 in early 2014.
What Other Country Stars Were Involved in Twister and its 2024 sequel, Twisters?
- The original Twister tapped Shania Twain and Alison Krauss to contribute songs to the star-studded soundtrack.
- In a sequel, the 2024 film Twisters, the soundtrack is brimming with country A-Listers.
- Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, Thomas Rhett and Miranda Lambert are just some of the stars who contributed tracks to the project.
The original 1996 film starred Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Carey Elwes. According to IMDB, the movie follows a group of storm chasers as they work to “create an advanced weather system” that puts them in the path of “extremely violent tornados.”
Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!
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