Robert Downey Jr is one of the most respected and talented actors in Hollywood. Though he gained God-like status for his work as Iron Man, his recent appearance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has helped him gain acclaim outside of his work in the MCU. While the actor has now made a reputation for himself as a man of great admiration, his public image wasn’t always this clean.
Downey famously hit rock bottom at a very young age and his life trajectory has been one to inspire many. However, his experiences from the past are rarely positive. In a very dark young adult life, there are a few moments that bring smiles to his fans’ faces. The perfect example would be his first meeting with one of the biggest stars in the world, Tom Cruise.
Robert Downey Jr and Tom Cruise’s First Meeting
Robert Downey Jr made an appearance on David Letterman’s talk show many years ago, where he talked about what happened during one of his first meetings with Tom Cruise. The actor revealed that the pair ended up getting inebriated and decided to play a game. The Mission: Impossible actor had a reputation for living ping pong, so that is what they played.
“First time I met Tom Cruise, we were at my friend’s house and we were playing ping-pong right. Cause he’s like, ‘let’s do something competitive’. So, playing ping-pong with him, and I’m ecstatic because he has clearly wiped me out, 21 to 4.” said Downey.
The game was quite intense. Considering Cruise’s experience with ping-pong, it was not surprising that he was extremely good at it. Downey, on the other hand, was not. The Iron Man actor was brutally losing the game, with the score being an embarrassing 21 to 4.
Robert Downey Jr’s Competitive Spirit Got The Better Of Him
It would seem that even though Robert Downey Jr was losing miserably to Tom Cruise, he still had quite a competitive personality. This strong frustration of not winning, mixed with alcohol was not the best of ideas. The actor revealed that he ended up getting onto the ping pong table in anger, and ended up breaking it into many pieces.
“But then I jumped the net. I splintered this thing into about 6000 pieces. Clearly hammered.” Downey went on, “He was just feeling fear and sadness, I think. You know. He hasn’t called me since. Tom, drop a line.”
He was then asked by David Lettermen about Cruise’s reaction to this, to which he revealed that the Mission: Impossible actor was terrified at what Downey did, even sad about the table breaking. The Iron Man actor even joked that he has not heard from Cruise since the incident, asking the actor to contact him.
