Tom Cruise is many things, Hollywood’s heartthrob, the messiah of cinema, a celebrated action icon, and the most bankable star in show business. But while he’s all that and more, the 61-year-old actor is also known for his mercurial nature on set and well, the endless controversies that are attached to his name. And the ’90s resembled the pinnacle of perhaps one of the most scandalous phases of Cruise’s career, flourishing as it might have been.
So, when acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe decided to try his luck with the Mission: Impossible star, he knew full well just how much of a gamble it was to replace his envisioned leading man, Tom Hanks with a different Tom instead. Fortunately enough, his shot in the dark ended up hitting the bullseye.
Jerry Maguire – From Tom Hanks to Tom Cruise
While Crowe’s Jerry Maguire had a massive role to play in shaping pop culture, it also contributed heavily to the making of the global icon that Tom Cruise is today, serving as the underpinning of his success in the early days of his career.
As brilliant as his rendition of the eponymous protagonist was in the sports drama, however, Cruise had never been the director’s first choice for the role. It was the lauded actor/filmmaker Tom Hanks that Crowe had his heart set on for the part. In fact, the 65-year-old producer had the Forrest Gump star in mind when he was creating the very essence of Jerry Maguire on paper.
But back then, Hanks, 66, was busy rising to the ranks of Hollywood’s A-lister in a period that some would even classify as his prime. So, there was always the off-chance that Crowe might not be able to work with the actor that he envisaged for his sports romance, and the only other man who came to mind in lieu of the two-time Oscar winner was Cruise.
“We were kind of developing [Jerry Maguire] for him […] But as Hanks got more and more into that white-hot heat of super stardom, I always did think, well, if Tom Hanks doesn’t do this, who would be the dream Jerry Maguire? More and more over time, that was Tom Cruise. I really felt that in my gut.”
But putting his money on the Top Gun star wasn’t devoid of risks. If anything, it was one big casting mistake waiting to go awry; back then, Cruise’s unpredictable temperament and his infamous proclivity of taking over entire production units to exercise his own creative vision weren’t unheard of. Luckily enough though, Crowe experienced none of said hindrances on his own set.
The Perfect Pick for the Role
Although Hanks absolutely loved the script, circumstances forced him to turn it down, as a result of which, Crowe then turned to Cruise. To the director’s delight, the Jack Reacher star had an incredibly positive and immediate reaction to the project and was thrilled at the prospect of auditioning as Jerry Maguire.
Crowe, however, had been warned by friends and colleagues about the “demanding” nature of stars as renowned as Cruise and how there always remained the danger of the film getting derailed because of the same. But of course, the award-winning actor left no room for any complaints whatsoever.
See also: Tom Hanks Does Not Regret Saying No to Tom Cruise’s Movie That Made Him a Hollywood Heartthrob
“He walked in, and the room just tilted to this guy, immediately. The charisma was palpable, and I was like, oh, this is the guy you’ve been talking about.”
And sure enough, Cruise most certainly managed to nail the part on the big screens as well, so much so that it became nearly impossible to imagine anybody else playing the part, even if it was the very actor for whom it was written.
Jerry Maguire can be streamed on AMC+ with a subscription or can be rented/purchased on Apple TV+.
Source: Deadline
