Terry Gilliam has revealed that he turned down an approach from Tom Cruise to step into Heath Ledger’s role in The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus.

The director told Total Film that he turned down overtures from Cruise because the A-lister didn’t know Ledger personally.

“I’m not sure if it was Tom or his agent [who put Cruise forward for the role],” he said. “I know there was a period when Tom’s agents were keen. The thing is, I was only interested in people who were friends of Heath. Simple as that. I wanted to keep it in the family.”

Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs while making Parnassus, prompting Gilliam to recruit Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to replace the late actor and complete the movie.