Why People Told Cameron Crowe Not To Hire Tom Cruise For Jerry Maguire
Tom Cruise has been a huge action movie star for decades, but his biggest role may have been when he took a turn for the dramatic in Jerry Maguire. It turns out, some tried to talk director Cameron Crowe out of casting Cruise. It seems that even in 1996 Tom Crusie had a reputation for being an actor who took control of the movies he starred in, and Crowe's friends were afraid the director would lose control of the project if he cast the Top Gun star. According to Crowe...
Cameron Crowe had made his name making smaller movies. His previous directorial efforts to Jerry Maguire were Say Anything... and Singles, both popular films but neither one had the sort of star power that Tom Cruise brings with him. Crowe told Alec Baldwin on his NPR Show Here's the Thing that this is what people were telling him would happen if Tom Cruise, who had been offered the part of the title character, said yes.
However, Cameron Crowe goes on to say that the reality could not have been further from the truth. While Cameron Crowe admits he became apprehensive about working with Tom Cruise, he says that the actor instantly wanted to work with him, rather than take over. Ultimately, while Cruise said he wanted the part, he also wanted to be sure Crowe wanted him in the part.
It's safe to say that Tom Cruise was the guy for the role of Jerry Maguire, as the part earned Cruise his second career Academy Award nomination. It's clear that the pair really enjoyed working together as they would do so again a few years later for Vanilla Sky and Crowe says he hopes to work with Cruise again one day.
Tom Cruise may flex his muscle as a Hollywood leading man when it comes to his desire to do his own stunts, but apparently, that doesn't mean he expects to take charge of every movie.
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CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.