Tom Cruise is a big actor. He has done massive movies and his reputation is also one that is much bigger than what meets the eye. From Jerry Maguire to Mission: Impossible, not only is he tied to franchises but also some of the biggest stand-alone movies as well. Despite his somewhat questionable reputation, as an actor, he has nothing but respect.
No matter what the role may be, he fits in almost perfectly, and not only the cast but even the crew around him have the utmost amount of respect for him. Due to his work in the Hollywood industry, he is amongst the highest-paid actors. No doubt he has earned that as well. However, his response to being paid far above most actors was quite different.
Tom Cruise On Being Paid Much More than His Co-Stars
There are various actors who get paid much more than their co-stars even if their role in the movie is smaller as compared to the others. This is because of their fame and value within the industry itself. One of the biggest examples of the same is Spider-Man: Homecoming where Robert Downey Jr was paid manifolds more than Tom Holland was.
”It’s definitely strange to think about. It’s like we’re living in another galaxy. It seems so unreal that we would make this much.”
Tom Cruise too is being paid far more than others in his movies. Jerry Maguire was one such movie where he was paid a whopping $20 Million for the role. Cruise too admitted that he never expected to make as much money as he does. Adding to it, he talked about how it feels completely different from living in the real world. This was ironic because of how much he was paid for just one role. However, what was even more ironic was that Hugh Grant was almost supposed to get the role instead.
Hugh Grant Almost Became Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire was one movie that helped Tom Cruise’s career a lot. However, there was a big chance that he would have completely dodged the movie as well as the fat $20 Million cheque. The role benefitted him throughout his career, allowing him bigger roles with even bigger payouts. Hugh Grant admitted that the beginning of his career wasn’t the best because of the choices he made. From the projects he picked to the reasons he picked them for.
“They did have a track record of doing that. They’d done it once before. And I’d called and said, ‘Hang on, this is good. And you sure it was meant for me?’ And they’d said, ‘No, sorry. This is meant for Tom Cruise.’ That was Jerry Maguire.”
Jerry Maguire was the first time he received a good script and he was so shocked by it that he had to ask if it was a genuine offer or a mistake. They immediately realized that they had indeed sent the script to the wrong person, meaning to give it to Cruise instead of Grant.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
