Burt Reynolds after he posed naked in the April 1972 issue of "Cosmopolitan". Reynolds said he did it for "a kick. I have a strange sense of humor" and because he knew he had "Deliverance" coming out. He later expressed regret for posing for Cosmopolitan. "Deliverance" was a huge commercial and critical success and, along with the talk show appearances, helped establish Reynolds as a star. "The night of the Academy Awards, I counted a half-dozen Burt Reynolds jokes," he later said. "I had become a household name, the most talked-about star at the award show." He was then in "Fuzz" (1972),
Burt Reynolds to be Hamlet. I would just like to be the best Burt Reynolds around. James L. Brooks offered Reynolds the role of astronaut Garrett Breedlove in "Terms of Endearment" (1983) but he turned it down to do "Stroker Ace" (1983), another car chase comedy directed by Needham. The "Endearment" role went to Jack Nicholson, who went on to win an Academy Award. Reynolds said he made this decision because "I felt I owed Hal more than I owed Jim" but "Stroker Ace" flopped. Reynolds felt this was a turning point in his career from which he never recovered. "That's where