8 things you never knew about the movie Forrest Gump until now.

It’s been 23 years since the world fell in love with charmingly simple Forrest Gump and his oh-so-quotable turns of phrase.

And of course, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Tom Hanks bringing the iconic character to life. However, that almost wasn’t the case, as the Oscar-winning actor wasn’t the producers’ first choice for the role.

That’s just one of the eight facts we just learned about the classic film thanks to the holy grail of all things movie trivia, Internet Movie DataBase. So read on pop culture nerds and Gump fans alike.

Listen: Adult themes anyone?

1. At least three actors turned down the lead role.

IMDb reports that John Travolta, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase all declined to play Forrest Gump. Thankfully when Tom Hanks read the script he fell in love with the film and agreed to star in it almost immediately.

2. Forrest’s mum really isn’t that much older than him.

Actress Sally Field was made to look anywhere from mid-thirties to her mid-seventies while playing Mrs Gump. In reality, Field was 48 at the time – just 10 years older than her supposed son Tom Hanks.

3. The Vietnam rally speech wasn't gibberish.

In the film, it's impossible to tell what Forrest said at the Vietnam rally in Washington. But Tom Hanks wasn't just muttering blah, blah, blah.

Here's what he actually said: "Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don’t go home at all. That’s a bad thing. That’s all I have to say about that.” This is hidden by the directors and thus not so many people heard what he said."

4. Ice Cube almost played Bubba.

Just as the case of the title role, the team behind the film also had actors other than Mykelti Williamson in mind to play his best mate Bubba. Ice Cube and Dave Chappelle were both offered the role and turned it down.

5. Tourists were randomly cast in the film.

There's a scene where Forrest is in Washington DC after returning from Vietnam and he's approached by a reporter. IMDb found out that this role wasn't played by an actor, but a tourist who was just passing by. The crew liked the look of him and asked him to fill the role - and like most of us would in that position - he said yes.

6. Cast and crew's kids featured.

Remember those cruel little kids who mocked Forrest on the school bus? When two of them were children of famous faces - Tom Hanks’ daughter Elizabeth and and director Robert Zemeckis’ son Alexander.

7. Kurt Russell voiced Elvis.

Most of the time the end credits is a reliable way to tell who was in a movie, but for some reason Kurt Russell, who voiced rock legend Elvis Presley wasn't given credit for his part. He voiced the musician after playing him in 1979 biopic Elvis.

8. We know Jenny's last name.

Okay, this one actually is easy to spot in the end credits if you're paying attention. It's just odd that you don't hear Jenny's last name said in the film at all. It's Curran FYI.