Tom Cruise has cemented his place as one of Hollywood’s biggest superstars thanks to his larger-than-life persona, arresting looks, and excellent use of his skill sets. The actor’s keen knowledge of the craft has also played a significant part in his massive success. Over the years, Cruise has played his cards extremely well in the industry by making smart choices with regard to roles and films.
The Mission: Impossible star has also used his wisdom many times to let go of films that he believed, would not have worked for him. One such high-profile project that came his way was the 1998 romantic adventure, The Mask Of Zorro. Cruise’s rejection of the offer to play the protagonist’s role which ultimately went to Antonio Banderas, turned out to be a wise decision on the actor’s part.
Tom Cruise Avoided A Costly Mistake That Scarlett Johansson Made
1998’s The Mask Of Zorro starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine-Zeta Jones, became a cult classic thanks to the chemistry between the two stars and Banderas’ Spanish sensibilities that worked perfectly for the film. This role was first offered to Tom Cruise when Steven Spielberg had originally developed the film with Mikael Salomon on board as director. Cruise though, refused the part stating that his casting would look very incongruous for the character.
As it turned out, this decision by the Minority Report star was one of his wisest moves. According to Salomon who later gave way to Martin Campbell as director, having Cruise on board for a role which required a person of a specific ethnicity, would have been surely questioned. In an interview with Slash Film, he cited an example and said,
“Early on, [Spielberg] wanted to offer it to him. Have you heard that? He wanted to offer it to Tom Cruise. And my friend and countryman Bille August had done The House of the Spirits with all non-Latinos, and he got in so much hot water because of that, and they picketed the movie in South America. And I said to Steven, ‘You know, that’s probably not a good idea, just for that reason.'”
In a similar instance, Scarlett Johansson signed on to play the role of an Asian character in the the sci-fi thriller, Ghost in the Shell. This move was criticized by audiences and critics as Johansson’s obviously Scandinavian looks were a complete mismatch for the character. Cruise though, ensured that he did not fall into a similar trap with The Mask Of Zorro.
Tom Cruise Also Rejected These Iconic Films
Tom Cruise’s career graph in Hollywood reflects a celebrity who has successfully sustained his superstardom over many decades by making smart movie choices. More significantly, Cruise’s ability to comprehend which roles would not suit him, worked extremely well in his favor. Having said that, the Oscar nominee has turned down many marquee films that are now considered cult classics.
One of the iconic roles made popular by Patrick Swayze was in Ghost which was offered to Cruise. The Jerry Maguire star was also in the reckoning to play the protagonist in Edward Scissorhands and 1997’s Donny Brasco. The critically acclaimed A Beautiful Mind starring Russel Crowe was also a film that Cruise could have done.
Even the superhero franchises were keen on the action star, with Marvel reportedly offering Cruise an opportunity to play Iron Man. The War of the Worlds actor went on record to state that no one other than Robert Downey Jr. could have played the part. Despite missing out on these memorable films, the Cocktail star has ensured that none of these misses proved costly for his career.
