Tom Cruise is an exceptional actor, no doubt. He has for long entertained viewers and critics with his acting genius and the wide range of roles he has undertaken. Not only has he starred in different genres, but has also collaborated with some amazing actors. One of his most unusual pairings was with Brad Pitt when they starred together in the vampire flick, Interview with the Vampire.
But since then the uncanny pair hasn’t shared the screen again, even though fans have for long wanted them to star together again. They even nearly missed starring together in the critically acclaimed sci-fi 12 Monkeys, however, the director rejected Cruise because he didn’t think the star was good enough for the Bruce Willis starrer $168 million movie.
$168M Movie Director Killed Tom Cruise’s Chance To Reunite With Brad Pitt
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt starred together in 1994’s Interview with the Vampire, and fans loved their on-screen chemistry and pairing. Despite being a fan-favorite cast, they have never starred together. However, an opportunity arose just after when Terry Gilliam was making his acclaimed sci-fi, time-traveling odyssey called 12 Monkeys.
Even though Cruise was considerably famous back then, the director didn’t think he was a good choice for the role. In an interview with Inverse, the director stated,
“The pressure was to get a movie star in. That was at a time when I was still a hot director, so people wanted to come near me and touch me. So they were coming up with all these names. And I just kept saying no. Tom Cruise, Nic Cage, they were all being thrown at me.”
Even Pitt was interested in the lead role but was instead cast as a supporting character, which later brought him extreme praise and critical recognition. As for Tom Cruise, Gilliam decided to cast Bruce Willis even though he hated his facial expressions.
Despite Not Liking Bruce Willis’ Expressions, Gilliam Cast Him Instead Of Tom Cruise
Bruce Willis as James Cole led to the actor being praised left and right for his versatility and the depth he brought to the character. However, Terry Gilliam wasn’t sure about casting the actor at first. He stated in the interview with Inverse,
“I had never been a great fan of Bruce’s before, but I liked talking to him, and I thought, OK, this guy’s smart; he’s funny. I explained to him my concerns about him as an actor. I hated that moue [pursed-lip expression] he does in his films when he gets a bit nervous. I thought, ‘God, that’s horrible.’ He does a moue with his mouth; it’s a Trumpian mouth. For a moment it goes all Trumpian. Rectal. It’s like I’m looking at somebody’s a**hole.”
However, the now-retired star aced the role, proving that his acting prowess and range as an actor goes well above and beyond the action genre.
12 Monkeys can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Source: Inverse
