Tom Cruise, one of the world’s highest-paid actors, is a master at running in front of the camera while maintaining the appearance of speed. Really, when someone talks about running in a movie, you cannot help but think of him. He is widely recognized for his untainted passion and graceful running in action movies like Mission: Impossible and Minority Report, as everyone is aware.
And just as we do, this inspires other actors as well.
Jessica Chastain, for example, struggled with her running form when her character demanded action sequences in The Debt, a 2010 remake of the Israeli thriller film Ha-Hov (2007). And then what? Her co-star, Sam Worthington, intervened and helped her learn how to run like a Risky Business star.
How Has Jessica Chastain Perfected Tom Cruise’s Running Technique?
In an interview with Vulture, Jessica Chastain acknowledged that she had never been good at maintaining a graceful gait when running in front of the camera. Consequently, she knew she needed to improve her running game when she got the chance to co-star with Sam Worthington in the thrilling movie The Debt. At the time, Chastain regarded John Madden’s film as her formal debut in the action genre.
“I think every role is so different that I’m playing, that every role is kind of the first to introduce me. Like this is my introduction to the action-thriller genre.”
Chastain trained in fighting techniques to enhance her performance and make sure she did the movie justice. But what the actress really wanted to do was run like a real athlete. Worthington suggested that she set her goals based on the Mission Impossible star. The Academy Award-winning actress, 46, recalled:
“And Sam [Worthington] took it upon himself to be my action coach, and he taught me how to pump my arms like Tom Cruise when I run. A lot of times I see movies with girls in action sequences, and I don’t buy it at all, but he helped me make it look really real. Because I’d never been in a fight in my life.”
Nonetheless, all of the hard work and perseverance paid off when The Debt made its big-screen debut. Both critics and audiences have reacted favorably to the film in general. Simply put, it proves that everything is achievable with a great deal of hard work and direction.
Jessica Chastain Owed Her Career To Top Gun Star
Jessica Chastain has expressed gratitude to Tom Cruise for helping her secure the role of her life that helped shape her career into what it is today. The actress claimed to The Hollywood Reporter that the Top Gun actor released her from her co-starring role in Oblivion (2013) so she could focus on Zero Dark Thirty:
“I got cold-called by [director] Kathryn Bigelow. I was in Toronto, and I had heard from [producer] Megan Ellison. We had done a film, Lawless, together. ‘And she said, ‘By the way, do you know Kathryn Bigelow’s trying to get a hold of you? She wants to meet with you on something’. ‘And I was like, ‘What? Please give her my number’.”
Actually, Chastain and Cruise had previously agreed to collaborate on a different movie, Oblivion. The actress, who was “contractually obligated to do something else” at the time, further explained:
“I was contractually obligated to do something else that I was really wanting to do, and I was excited to do. But when this came my way, I realized I had to do this.”
Thus, Cruise, 61, made the decision to try and assist after learning about Jessica’s situation. The actress claimed:
“Someone contacted him from my agency. And he said, ‘OK, we’re going to let you out of your contract’.”
As it happened, Zero Dark Thirty played a significant role in changing her life and career. At the box office, the film brought in $132 million worldwide and won several accolades for its acting, directing, screenplay, sound design, and editing.
Jessica Chastain was last seen as Sylvia in Michel Franco’s 2023 Mexican-American drama film Memory.
The Debt is streaming on DIRECTV.
