Tom Cruise has done some of the most iconic movies and collected even more iconic roles in his name. No matter how many movies he has done, there is always a massive amount of praise that comes his way. However, not all of his films are critically claimed or even liked by many fans. If it is a role already loved by fans, things become even more complicated and that was what backfired for the actor.
One role, in particular, was heavily criticized by the fans because of an inaccurate representation of their beloved character. However, it wasn’t just the fans who weren’t very fond of Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher, but also the writer, Lee Child himself thought they could have done better. The Amazon Prime series certainly benefitted from that.
Lee Child Thinks Tom Cruise Is Too Old For Jack Reacher
The author who brought to life the iconic character of Jack Reacher, noted how it was rather unusual to cast Tom Cruise as the character because of the clear physical differences the two had. On one hand, Reacher was a tall, blond man whereas Cruise is a short brunette. However, that was not the only concern Child had. In fact, he was rather glad to see the actor step away from the role.
“It sounds extremely patronizing, but I think it’s good for him. He’s too old for this stuff.”
Surprisingly so, this was because of his age. He stated that perhaps Cruise was rather old to play the character of Jack Reacher and was better off doing other movies than this. Although, he did state that this is not a hit at his talent as an actor. That is something he heavily admires. He even claimed that it would be better if he were to find a more long-term character in acting to benefit his age.
Why Did Tom Cruise Leave Jack Reacher?
Jack Reacher only got two movies before it was shifted to Amazon Prime. Although the character was first played by Tom Cruise, he was later replaced by Alan Ritchson. Fans were more than happy to see this change because of just how perfectly the latter fit into the character both physically and due to his skills as an actor.
“So it wasn’t a question of firing him or getting rid of him, it was that the project moved on to television, and he would not go with it. He could not go with it because he’s 100% committed to the cinema.”
There was never any discussion about Cruise being fired or his wanting to resign. The only reason the actor stepped away from the role was because of his loyalty to the cinema. Tom Cruise is an actor who prefers to only do movies that would make it to the theatres and that was the biggest reason why he left. As the franchise was shifted to television, Cruise parted ways with it.
Source: Men’s Health
