Hollywood is littered with stories of lost roles and missed opportunities. While some are not so surprising, others are eyebrow-raising. One such surprising story of a lost role in a major film was narrated by Javier Bardem. It was regarding a movie that also starred his wife Penelope Cruz’s ex-boyfriend, Tom Cruise.
Bardem once cameoed in 2004’s Collateral starring Tom Cruise. But he began rising through Hollywood’s ranks only after starring in the 2007 Coen Brothers masterpiece No Country for Old Men. However, he could have had a bigger Hollywood launch much before Collateral, in another Tom Cruise starring film. But he turned it down due to a weird reason.
Javier Bardem Turned Down A Tom Cruise Film For A Confusing Reason
Before Collateral, Javier Bardem was going to star with Tom Cruise in a film called Minority Report (2002). It was helmed by Steven Spielberg and grossed $358 million on a $102 million budget. Bardem was the director’s first choice for Danny Witwer, the Department of Justice’s agent. The role eventually went to Colin Farrell.
So what made Bardem reject the film? Many thought it was because the film had Tom Cruise who was dating Penelope Cruz from 2001 to 2004. While Bardem and Cruz reportedly only began dating in 2007 after starring in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the two actually met in a 1992 film called Jamon Jamon. But that wasn’t the actual reason. After all, Bardem did star with Cruise in 2004’s Collateral.
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As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, it was due to his issues speaking the English language after starring almost exclusively in Spanish films till then. The actor said:
“Now I can, because I’ve done those roles. But at the time, it was difficult for me to jump into a foreign-language performance. My English is better now. You may not believe it, but it’s better.”
As for him and Penelope Cruz, that worked out well as the two went on to marry and have two kids together. However, this isn’t the only time an actor couldn’t star in a film with Tom Cruise. Recently, the same was experienced by Nicholas Hoult.
Read More: Tom Cruise Made a Gargantuan $130M Salary for 2005 Steven Spielberg Movie That Never Got a Sequel
Nicholas Hoult Couldn’t Star In Two Tom Cruise-Led Films
In an interview with The Guardian, Nicholas Hoult revealed that he screen-tested for Top Gun 2 and almost starred in the mega Mission Impossible franchise with Tom Cruise. But he had to leave the later role due to prior commitments. As per Hoult:
“I screen-tested for The Batman and didn’t get it. Screen-tested for Top Gun, but didn’t get it. Then I got the call from Tom Cruise, ‘Hey, how about Mission: Impossible?’ OK. Got it. Then I had to drop out because I was already attached to do some more of The Great.”
Miles Teller got the job in Top Gun: Maverick while Esai Morales grabbed Hoult’s role for Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. Top Gun 2 created history for Tom Cruise because it became the second-highest-earning film of 2022 (behind Avatar 2) with $1.4 million at the box office. Mission Impossible 7 is also supposed to have a similar money run. As for, Hoult and Bardem’s disappointments, both are seasoned professionals who know that losing and gaining roles is all part of being in the film industry.
Collateral is streaming on Netflix, while Minority Report is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: The Guardian and THR
