Tom Cruise

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q37079: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as craft, the making department they hold the most credits in. The films the hosts said they worked on, which the two lists below run through too: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015); unspecified. Count them as actor (44 films), producer (2 films) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Paul Newman: 2 lines

  1. unmapped (mentor anecdote) · them, directly: Paul Newman ⇒ Tom Cruise (the maker said so: Cruise on Graham Norton and the Nerdist podcast). Cruise's story: Newman had a PA bring a warm coat and heater between takes and said 54 pictures, kid, teaching him the craft of the job.
    “And Paul Newman says something like 54 pictures, kid. basically implying like, I've learned how to make movies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:14:23 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (torch passing) · them, directly: Paul Newman ⇒ Tom Cruise (the host's read). Cruise was number one and Newman tenth in the 1986 Quigley poll, so the narrative was Cruise taking the torch; Cruise modeled himself on Newman but went the Redford route.
    “Cruz did kind of model himself after Newman in some ways, but ultimately went more of the Redford route”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:07:34 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes): 1 line

  1. industry (industry) · them, directly: Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) ⇒ Tom Cruise (the host's read). Cruise optioned the Spanish film as soon as it reached America after Sundance.
    “He optioned the film instantly when it came out in America.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Vanilla Sky with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:08:26 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

No line says anything drew on them or a film of theirs.

What the speakers said they did

Craft (3) everyone in craft

Acting (153) everyone in acting

Other (20) everyone in other

Producing (2) everyone in producing

What was said about them, by kind

career (19)

  1. career (career): Tom Cruise → War of the Worlds. A candidate for Cruise's anti-apex alongside the couch-jumping period, though the speaker likes the movie itself.
    “Cruz, I think it's Oprah's sofa and War of the Worlds, even though I like War of the Worlds.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:08:45 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. career (career): Tom Cruise → Mission: Impossible. Cruise's low point is framed as the stretch when he was reviving Mission: Impossible with McQuarrie and still making Oblivion.
    “It's what Cruz was doing as he was trying to revamp Mission Impossible with Macquarie and then still making kind of like oblivion.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:09:00 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): Steven Spielberg → Tom Cruise. Spielberg stopped working with Cruise around the time people wondered whether Cruise was nuts.
    “And then Spielberg stops working with him then?”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:09:14 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. career (career): Rain Man → Tom Cruise. Cruise is good at playing innocent, reaching back to Rain Man and Born on the Fourth of July.
    “Cruz is good at playing innocent.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:31:56 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. career (career): Tom Cruise → Cocktail. Cruise in Cocktail is a throwing-everything-into-a-part-that-isn't-great example, as with Pacino in Scent of a Woman and Two for the Money.
    “Like, cruise and cocktail is another one.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:28:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. career (career): Brad Pitt → Tom Cruise. Cruise embodied hyper celebrity while Pitt just did whatever interested him.
    “Tom Cruise embodied, not just the movie star, but the hyper celebrity.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:19:30 · Van Lathan (0.70 sure it was them)
  7. career (career): Jim Carrey → Tom Cruise. At 1998, Carrey is the most powerful actor other than maybe Hanks and Cruise (who is doing Eyes Wide Shut).
    “And Cruz, but Cruz is doing eyes wide.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 1:19:43 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. career (career strategy contrast): Bruce Willis → Tom Cruise. Willis was erratic and high-volume, not a Cruise who picks the best material and promotes it to death.
    “this is not going to ever be like a cruise or somebody who's just like, I pick the best material.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:06:32 · Chris Ryan (0.80 sure it was them)
  9. career (career contrast): Brad Pitt → Tom Cruise. Cruise plays variations of himself and may lack a Cliff Booth role.
    “He's basically playing variations of Tom Cruise in these different movies, but I don't know if he had a Cliff Booth part, did he?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ Live From Sundance With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:08:09 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)
  10. career (career): Days of Thunder → Tom Cruise. Days of Thunder kicks off her relationship with Tom Cruise but is not a Hall of Fame movie.
    “obviously it kicks off her relationship with Tom, but for her, I don't think it's a Hall of Fame movie.”
    The Big Picture · The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’ · 0:57:37 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  11. career (career): Eyes Wide Shut → Tom Cruise. A complicated movie for Cruise and Kidman, tied to their relationship and the last thing Kubrick made.
    “the last thing that Kubrick made.”
    The Big Picture · The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’ · 1:08:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  12. career (career): Tom Cruise → Born on the Fourth of July. Cruise took a pay cut and passed on Top Gun sequels-style easy money to play Kovic.
    “Instead, Cruz took a pay cut to play Kovic.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:22:27 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)
  13. career (career): Tom Cruise → Magnolia. Before Edge, Magnolia would have been his best performance, a post-modern text analyzing his persona.
    “Magnolia is his best performance because it's like the post-modern text analyzing.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:03:45 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  14. career (career): Tom Cruise → Eyes Wide Shut. Vanilla Sky and Eyes Wide Shut dissect his persona outside the blockbuster, whereas Edge does it inside a blockbuster.
    “like vanilla sky and eyes wide shut, like the ones that are kind of dissecting his persona”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:03:54 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  15. career (career): Bryan Singer → Tom Cruise. Singer brought McQuarrie on for Valkyrie, where Cruise took to him.
    “singer brings him on for Valkyrie and uh, Cruz takes to him and he becomes Cruz's right hand man”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 0:07:43 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  16. career (career): Tom Cruise → Jackie Chan. Cruise's recent action persona reads like Jackie Chan, panicked and physically comedic.
    “I was realizing after the last one, he's starting to be a lot more like Jackie Chan.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 0:17:05 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  17. career (career): Alec Baldwin → Tom Cruise. Baldwin, Cruise's contemporary, says he failed as a movie star, and now Cruise is the one doing the action.
    “Baldwin is roughly of the same age as Cruz was sort of a contemporary of his and has talked so openly about the fact that he feels like he failed as a movie star”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 0:24:52 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  18. career (career): Jeremy Renner → Tom Cruise. Younger actors in the Cruise-era M:I films, such as Renner and Cavill, serve as commentaries that nobody can do Cruise.
    “The fucking Cavil are commentaries on like these people can't do cruise, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 0:25:41 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  19. career (career): Tom Cruise → Magnolia. Magnolia, MI2 and Vanilla Sky are three consecutive long-haired movies.
    “Magnolia, Mission Impossible 2, and this are all long hair, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Vanilla Sky with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:54:05 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

contrast (5)

  1. contrast (contrast): Richard Gere → Tom Cruise. Leading men like Cruise would not cede sexual power to a Lothario co-star the way Garcia and Baldwin do here.
    “Cruz isn't signing up for this.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Internal Affairs’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:14:26 · Van Lathan (0.35 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (contrast): Nicole Kidman → Tom Cruise. Unlike her ex-husband, who has stuck tightly to one thing, Kidman does not stay in her lane.
    “I mean, her ex-husband is sort of like in the last 15 years has been like, I'm good at running and being serious and executing missions and is stuck pretty tightly to that.”
    The Big Picture · The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’ · 0:42:00 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
  3. contrast (contrast): Tom Cruise → Jack Nicholson. The winner of the showdown is Cruise, not Nicholson.
    “the winner of that scene is Tom Cruise and not Jack Nicholson”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:25:51 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)
  4. contrast (contrast): Tom Cruise → James Bond films. Once Cruise embraced formal wear, he ran circles around Bond.
    “And then once he starts owning it, it's like he starts just fucking running circles around Bond.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 1:05:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. contrast (contrast): Jennifer Lopez → Tom Cruise. Lopez in Hustlers compared to Tom Cruise in Magnolia: a star pouring their entire legacy into the best acting they have done.
    “someone finding the performance that channels their entire legacy as a star into the best piece of acting they've ever done.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Fifth Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid (Ad-Free) · 0:24:50 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

craft (8)

  1. craft (craft): War of the Worlds → Tom Cruise. A Reddit thread defends Cruise's awkward ball toss as a character choice, a father easy on his son.
    “there was Reddit thread defending Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds that's saying that. That's what the character, that's how the character would have thrown the ball.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:20:24 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft): Tom Cruise → The Color of Money. Question for Cruise: does he still have his pool skills from The Color of Money, and the bottle flip from Cocktail.
    “Is he still good at pool from color?”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:58:17 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft): Tom Cruise → The Color of Money. Cruise trained in billiards for The Color of Money like Travolta trained for the dance floor.
    “he like really has trained in billiards, so he's actually good at it.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:41:20 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)
  4. craft (craft): Daniel Craig → Tom Cruise. Craig is a fantastic movie runner, maybe number two behind Cruise.
    “Daniel Craig, like, is a fantastic movie runner, might be number two behind the cruise.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Amanda Dobbins · 0:22:49 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. craft (craft): Far and Away → Tom Cruise. The land-race finale shows extraordinary production value and shades of future Tom Cruise.
    “At the end, he just, he rides the horse, you know, shades of future Tom Cruise.”
    The Big Picture · The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’ · 0:59:32 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
  6. craft (craft): Collateral → Tom Cruise. Collateral is a great two-hander with Cruise playing against type as the heavy.
    “playing against type and playing the heavy”
    The Big Picture · ‘Ferrari’ and Top Five Michael Mann Movies · 0:44:00 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. craft (craft): Tom Cruise → Ving Rhames. Rhames' bad knees limit the action he can do; the film works around it.
    “that Ving Reams has bad knees, and it's always a problem he has to solve”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 1:41:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  8. craft (craft): Tom Cruise → Edge of Tomorrow. A foreign actress can't volley the ball back; Emily Blunt does in Edge of Tomorrow, so Cruise's chemistry works.
    “Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Vanilla Sky with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:14:09 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

industry (3)

  1. industry (industry): Tom Cruise → Al Pacino. Rewatchables Pantheon by number of movies: Cruise 17, Pacino 14, De Niro 13, Denzel 12, Stallone 12.
    “Cruise 17, Pacino 14, De Niro 13, Denzel 12, Stallone 12.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:02:15 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. industry (industry): Taylor Lautner → Tom Cruise. Lautner's listed 5'9 is the height people round up to; Cruise and Downey Jr. height.
    “5'9 is like Tom Cruise height.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 1:21:50 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. industry (industry): Tom Cruise → Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes). Cruise optioned the Spanish film as soon as it reached America after Sundance.
    “He optioned the film instantly when it came out in America.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Vanilla Sky with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:08:26 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

lineage (2)

  1. lineage (bad sequel idea): Tom Cruise → Days of Thunder. A Days of Thunder 2 would be a mistake, especially post-F1, versus a pool sequel where Cruise is credible.
    “Versus Days of Thunder, where it's like, get out of the car, Tom.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:32:36 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage): Tom Cruise → The Firm. Cruise's 90s run (The Firm, A Few Good Men) is about the innocent learning the world is not what it seems.
    “The guy learning the world, it's not quite what it appears to be.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:31:49 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

people (9)

  1. people (casting analogy): Tom Cruise → Whiplash. Casting Cruise after Risky Business is likened to Top Gun hiring Miles Teller because he was good in Whiplash.
    “This casting is closer to hiring Miles Teller for Top Gun because you're like he was good in whiplash.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:16:25 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. people (casting link): Michael Chapman → Tom Cruise. Chapman shot Raging Bull and directed Cruise in All the Right Moves, which is cited as a reason Scorsese had his eye on Cruise.
    “Michael Chapman, who is, of course, he's cinematographer for, like, Raging Bull and stuff, directed all the right moves. So that was another reason for, says he had his eye on cruise.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:17:53 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. people (people): Glen Powell → Tom Cruise. Powell leans on Cruise as a resource for stunts and how to sell an action movie.
    “there's very few people you can ask over the course of dime that have done it at a certain level.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 1:41:05 · Glen Powell (0.80 sure it was them)
  4. people (performance extremity): Tom Cruise → Heat. Cruise's Werewolves of London pool scene goes for it as hard as anyone on the podcast other than Pacino in Heat.
    “cruise goes for it as much as I think anyone's ever gone for it. Maybe in the history of this podcast other than Pacino and Heat.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:26:04 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)
  5. people (people): A Few Good Men → Tom Cruise. Cruise does Sorkin's rhythms well and the film is not iconic without Cruise and Nicholson.
    “I don't know that a few good men is, you know, as iconic as it is without Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:21:16 · Amanda Dobbins (0.65 sure it was them)
  6. people (people): War of the Worlds → Tom Cruise. Chris picks Cruise in War of the Worlds as a cool underrated Spielberg performance.
    “I'm very partial to Tom Cruise in more of the world's, that's like a cool underrated one.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:40:49 · Chris Ryan (0.85 sure it was them)
  7. people (people): Endless Love → Tom Cruise. The 1981 Endless Love was Tom Cruise's first screen performance.
    “it's also Tom Cruise's 1st screen performance.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 2:01:46 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  8. people (people): Tom Cruise → Doug Liman. Cruise and Liman, McQuarrie and Kosinski became Cruise's guys: directors he can collaborate with rather than be pushed back by.
    “Cruz did Kacinski, Lyman and Macquarie became just his guys.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:23:45 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  9. people (people): Tom Cruise → Eyes Wide Shut. The Cruise-Kidman breakup came soon after the movie they made about their sex life.
    “This is coming pretty shortly after the movie they made about their sex life.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Vanilla Sky with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:20:57 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

programming (3)

  1. programming (programming): Tom Cruise → Days of Thunder. Craig would do Days of Thunder just to do it.
    “Craig would do traffic Thunder just so we could do traffic Thunder.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:57:20 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. programming (programming): Tom Cruise → Eyes Wide Shut. If Cruise would answer everything, the Rewatchables pick is Eyes Wide Shut.
    “I would do eyes-wise shut.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:57:26 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. programming (programming): Tom Cruise → Cocktail. With the public-figure Cruise, the pick has to be Cocktail.
    “If it's the cruise, the public figure cruise that we know, it's got to be cocktails.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:57:51 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

theme (6)

  1. theme (theme): Will Smith → Tom Cruise. Smith is hitting a danger point like Tom Cruise jumping on the couch.
    “we have entered Tom Cruise jumping on the couch.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:03:01 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. theme (movie-star persona): Tom Cruise → Cocktail. Cruise in Top Gun, Cocktail, and this film plays with no wink or self-awareness, unlike later movie stars.
    “In all 3 of those movies that you just mentioned, cocktail, Top Gun, and this movie. There's no self-awareness.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:30:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. theme (comparison): Tom Cruise → Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt negates his charm in roles; Cruise stays utterly himself.
    “Brad Pitt in the way that Brad Pitt has chosen to navigate his career”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 0:26:14 · Amanda Dobbins (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. theme (comparison): Tom Cruise → Denzel Washington. Denzel is the closest comparison because of Tony Scott movies, but better actor who also does Shakespeare.
    “I think Denzel is probably the closer comparison because he does like a lot of Tony Scott movies”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 0:28:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. theme (comparison): Tom Cruise → Dwayne Johnson. Cruise treats himself like the Rock: put him in a legal thriller and you wait for him to punch through a table.
    “what's happened to him over the last 10 years or so is he is treating himself as if he is the rock.”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 0:32:44 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  6. theme (theme): Bill Paxton → Tom Cruise. Paxton, who worked every position in the Corman system, shares Cruise's 'isn't this great, we're making movies' reputation.
    “he had the Tom Cruise thing of like, isn't this great?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:17:27 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

unmapped (10)

  1. unmapped (mentor anecdote): Tom Cruise → Paul Newman. Cruise's story: Newman had a PA bring a warm coat and heater between takes and said 54 pictures, kid, teaching him the craft of the job.
    “And Paul Newman says something like 54 pictures, kid. basically implying like, I've learned how to make movies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:14:23 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (torch passing): Tom Cruise → Paul Newman. Cruise was number one and Newman tenth in the 1986 Quigley poll, so the narrative was Cruise taking the torch; Cruise modeled himself on Newman but went the Redford route.
    “Cruz did kind of model himself after Newman in some ways, but ultimately went more of the Redford route”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:07:34 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (on-screen romance): Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio → Tom Cruise. Chris calls this his favorite Cruise romance, ahead of Zellweger, Kelly McGillis, and Cocktail's rich lady.
    “I think this is my favorite on-screen romance for cruise.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:05:51 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  4. unmapped (method commitment): Liam Neeson → Tom Cruise. Neeson trained in karate during four months in Paris, which went a little Tom Cruise.
    “Went a little Tom Cruise on us, really wanted to live the role.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:47:44 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)
  5. unmapped (promo tour): Tom Cruise → Knight and Day. After MI, Cruise's brand turned on stunts, such as riding a motorcycle across Europe for Knight and Day.
    “when he like rode a motorcycle across Europe for night and days promo tour”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:13:58 · Chris Ryan (0.30 sure it was them)
  6. unmapped (IP attempt): Tom Cruise → War of the Worlds. Cruise's other IP efforts, War of the Worlds and The Mummy, are fine but will not make his Hall of Fame plaque; MI will.
    “Those movies are fine. They're never going to go on his Hall of Fame plaque. The Mission Impossible movies do.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:17:14 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. unmapped (practical stunts): John Wick (franchise) → Tom Cruise. The only people still doing real stunts are in John Wick movies or Tom Cruise.
    “The only guy who's doing stunts at this point is either in a John Wick movie or Tom Cruise.”
    The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:51:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.45 sure it was them)
  8. unmapped (co-star encouragement): Tom Cruise → Rosamund Pike. Pike emailed her Jack Reacher co-star Cruise the night before shooting and he wrote back that she was in the hands of a great director.
    “And he emailed back, trust yourself, you're in the hands of a great director.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:49:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  9. unmapped (courtship): Tom Cruise → David Fincher. Cruise passed on Fincher for The Last Samurai, then offered him MI3 with a Robert Towne script.
    “Cruz considered Furdig, decided to do last samurai instead, but then was like, here's a Robert Towns script for MI3.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:39:54 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  10. unmapped (set visit): Tom Cruise → Paul Thomas Anderson. Cruise snuck PTA onto the Eyes Wide Shut set while they were meeting about Magnolia.
    “Cruz snuck Paul Thomas Anderson on because they were meeting about Magnolia at that point”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 1:05:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

verdict (1)

  1. verdict (verdict): Tom Cruise → American Made. Cruise's age in American Made (a 56-year-old playing a younger pilot) was too distracting.
    “He's playing a pilot in the 80s and he's got this weird wig on and he's 20 years older than the guy he was playing”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 1:02:46 · Bill Simmons (0.55 sure it was them)

what-if (19)

  1. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Dune. Tom Cruise was mentioned for Paul but feared too charismatic.
    “Obviously, Tom Cruise is also mentioned.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 1:44:35 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (almost cast): Tom Cruise → Starman. Carpenter talked to Cruise, who instead did Legend.
    “But then Tom Cruise ended up doing legend.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:11:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → John Travolta. Cruise in the Travolta role, or Hanks against type; the speakers say Travolta is playing a Cruise part.
    “Travolta's playing a cruise part.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:21:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Vince Vaughn. Cruise in the Vaughn part, saying the stepfather lines, would be amazing.
    “A cruise in the Vaughan part is amazing.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:22:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. what-if (what-if): Sicario → Tom Cruise. Cruise could play the lead if the Blunt role were a man, since studios wanted a male lead and 90s Cruise fits.
    “That makes 90s cruise perfect for this.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:31:43 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Cast Away. Cruise-for-Hanks swap: Cruise in Cast Away would be great, especially trying to light the fire.
    “Cruise and Castaway would be pretty amazing.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:25:28 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  7. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Forrest Gump. Worst swap: Cruise as Forrest Gump, because of the running.
    “The worst version of it would be cruise is Forrest Gump.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:26:14 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Weird Science. Cruise would have been a Wyatt, though the pick was early-80s Cruise or Losing It Cruise.
    “Cruise is Wyatt, like early 80s cruise, like outsiders cruise?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Weird Science’ With Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt · 1:25:34 · Kyle Brandt (0.40 sure it was them)
  9. what-if (what-if): The Truman Show → Tom Cruise. With Cruise it turns into Minority Report, a paranoid thriller; also a running scene over the bridge.
    “No, no, the thing with Cruz, it turns into the, you know, minority report.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 1:04:01 · Glen Powell (0.80 sure it was them)
  10. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Magnolia. As a cameo, Cruise could be one of Sil's pickups: Cocktail Cruise or Magnolia Cruise.
    “Literally, one of the guys she picks up is cocktail cruise. or Magnolia Cruise?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Species’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:16:29 · Chris Ryan (0.30 sure it was them)
  11. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Species. Cruise as the Michael Madsen character would add stunts and running.
    “I got Cruz as the Michael Matson guy.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Species’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:16:57 · Chris Ryan (0.30 sure it was them)
  12. what-if (what-if): Rocky Balboa → Tom Cruise. Cruise versus Hanks as heavyweight challenger: Cruise would do six months of prep.
    “I can't buy Hanks as a heavyweight boxing challenger.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:34:15 · Chris Ryan (0.45 sure it was them)
  13. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Friday Night Lights (2004 film). A Cruise Coach Gaines would be deranged but mesmerizing, mixing calm and mania.
    “I think the cruise version of this would be deranged, but kind of mesmerizing.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Friday Night Lights’ With Bill Simmons and Mallory Rubin · 1:30:35 · Mallory Rubin (0.80 sure it was them)
  14. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Pulp Fiction. Cruise as Vincent or Butch; Hanks as Vincent or Maynard; argued both ways.
    “It's absolutely 1002% cruise.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:07:51 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  15. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Eyes Wide Shut. Late-80s cocky Cruise or Eyes Wide Shut-era Cruise could have worked as Oliver.
    “Or eyes wide shut, era Tom Cruise, you know?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The War of the Roses’ With Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Amanda Dobbins · 1:16:20 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  16. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → Jerry Maguire. Cruise could play the Oliver role as the cocky, beaten-up Jerry Maguire of the first 30 minutes.
    “I'm thinking like collateral cruise crossed with Jerry Maguire cruise.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The War of the Roses’ With Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Amanda Dobbins · 1:17:39 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)
  17. what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → The Verdict. Cruise should do a serious historical drama, something like The Verdict.
    “It should be the verdict or a movie like that.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 1:02:28 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  18. what-if (what-if): Doug Liman → Tom Cruise. Liman and Cruise announced a film shot in space; it was canceled because Cruise didn't want to owe Trump a favor.
    “the space movie is finally like officially fucking canceled”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:37:47 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  19. what-if (what-if): Iron Man → Tom Cruise. Iron Man was at New Line for Nick Cassavetes and Tom Cruise, who wanted it forever, and would have been less faithful.
    “It was supposed to be a Nick Castavetti's movie starring Tom Cruise.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:13:52 · unknown (Griffin or David) (0.30 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise recounts Newman's coat-and-heater lesson, 54 pictures, kid, while freezing shooting outside in Chicago in January with summer wardrobe.
    “Yeah, because he does his wardrobe fitting in the summer. So he's like, it'll be cool if I'm wearing a leather jacket and a t-shirt and it's like they're shooting in Chicago in January.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:14:50 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Tom Cruise: Trivia: Tom Cruise was the youngest People Sexiest Man Alive, at 27 in 1990, and has not been named since.
    “Tom Cruise won people's sexiest man alive in 1990 when he was 27 years old.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Twin Peaks: The Return (Episode 8) with Connor Ratliff · 0:38:28 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Tom Cruise: What activity with Cruise: Chris Ryan wants to dance with him to Lil Jon; Bill wants to play pool; Craig wants to bartend.
    “I want to dance with him to Lil John.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:58:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Tom Cruise: Most rewatchable scene: Cruise's Werewolves of London pool run, with a cue-flipping routine. 'No camera has ever loved an actor more than those 2 minutes.'
    “No camera has ever loved an actor more than those 2 minutes.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:26:19 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise did his own trick shots except the ball-jumping-two-balls shot, which used a stunt person because learning it would have cost two production days.
    “Cruz did his own trick shots except for one.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:59:16 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise brings the Ethan Hunt voice to the phone in 'my team is dead' scene; Sean rewound it four times for loud, crazed Cruise. 'They knew we were coming, man' is compared to a Ruffalo impression and Bill Paxton in Aliens.
    “He goes Ruffalo in this scene before Ruffalo even knew.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:23:35 · Jason Concepcion (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about Tom Cruise: The 'Net Ranger' line, delivered sincerely, is the unintentional comedy pick.
    “We're going to go with Net Ranger, because he says it so sincerely.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:54:41 · Chris Ryan (0.30 sure it was them)
  8. fun, about Tom Cruise: Raftery's defense of Risky Business.
    “I love risky business.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:20:56 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)
  9. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise met Kovic when Kovic's friend saw him wrestling a wheelchair out of a car.
    “a friend called him and said there was somebody outside, trying to get a wheelchair out of a car.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:23:02 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)
  10. fun, about Tom Cruise: Spent months in a wheelchair; Stone considered injecting him with a paralytic, insurers said no.
    “On the director's commentary track for born in the 4th of July, Stone says he actually considered injecting cruise with a substance that would briefly paralyze the actor from the waist down.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:23:38 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)
  11. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise's motion-smoothing PSA with Christopher McQuarrie is a personal Hall of Fame moment, and it plays on the podcast.
    “Video interpolation or motion smoothing is a digital effect on most high definition televisions”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 0:09:28 · Sean Fennessey (0.30 sure it was them)
  12. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise's Hall of Fame bylaws: the 2005 year (couch jump, Brooke Shields, Scientology videos) coincided with a career nadir and the shift to Ethan Hunt as a safe harbor.
    “Ethan Hunt just does everything for everyone all of the time and has no faults and is always on the right side.”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 0:46:39 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)
  13. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise appeared on 106 & Park and did the young jock dance during the Night and Day promo tour.
    “Was this when he appeared on 106 in Park and did the young jock dance?”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 1:21:22 · Amanda Dobbins (0.30 sure it was them)
  14. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise mailed his Golden Globes back when the HFPA was called fraudulent.
    “Just mailing them back.”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 1:25:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.30 sure it was them)
  15. fun, about Tom Cruise: The Cruise cake: a white chocolate coconut bundt from Stone's Bakery in the Valley that Cruise sends every Christmas to famous friends; the hosts eat it on air and put it in the Hall of Fame.
    “Tom Cruise sends it to all of the famous people in his life every year.”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 1:41:37 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)
  16. fun, about Tom Cruise: Happy to watch Tom Cruise jump out of things; it is the only action of interest, and hopes he wears a parachute.
    “I just want to watch Tom Cruise jump out of things.”
    The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:51:48 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)
  17. fun, about Tom Cruise: The hosts ask if they'll ever do a podcast without discussing what Cruise should do next.
    “Will there ever be a podcast where you and I don't talk about what Tom Cruise should do next?”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 1:02:21 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)
  18. fun, about Tom Cruise: A host argues Edge is possibly Cruise's best performance and the first blockbuster that owns what is weird about him.
    “There is an argument this is Cruz's best performance.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:02:35 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  19. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise is the 'guy pretending to be Tom Cruise' for the first ten minutes: the movie strips the persona and makes him earn trust back.
    “he's a guy pretending to be Tom Cruise”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:04:15 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  20. fun, about Tom Cruise: Emily Blunt on Graham Norton: on the worst day, Cruise, always upbeat, admitted he was 'a little trying'.
    “And he went like, a little, a little trying.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:09:00 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  21. fun, about Tom Cruise: A host reads Gleeson's contempt for the PR-man Cruise as a cathartic audience stand-in for how people felt about Cruise then.
    “Your time is done.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:10:19 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  22. fun, about Tom Cruise: The helicopter flown near Big Ben shut down London for about three hours, because Cruise wanted to do it.
    “it shut down London for like 3 hours”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:12:27 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  23. fun, about Tom Cruise: Late in the Liman-Cruise era Cruise would not make a space movie because he refused to owe Trump a favor.
    “I don't want to owe Trump a favor.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:37:47 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  24. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise dropped everything including a big payday to do the movie, and Kubrick told him to just act like himself, the one direction that drives him crazy.
    “And he was like, just you.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 0:49:45 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  25. fun, about Tom Cruise: The glass contact lenses that protected Cruise's eyes in the plane stunt.
    “And they talk about how they had to give him specially made contact lenses out of glass.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 0:15:54 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  26. fun, about Tom Cruise: In the catwalk fight, Cruise lets himself look short next to the big assassin.
    “It's one of the 1st times Tom Cruise has allowed someone to make him look this short in the movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 0:47:13 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  27. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise saw a VFX sketch of an underwater scene and insisted on it.
    “And cruise apparently came in, saw it pointing at it and was like, we're going underwater?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 1:10:19 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  28. fun, about Tom Cruise: He trained to hold his breath for 6.5 minutes.
    “but Tom trained himself to 6.5 minutes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 1:10:50 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  29. fun, about Tom Cruise: His hair is the best it has ever looked in a movie, and the long-hair era runs from Magnolia through MI2 to this film.
    “Yeah, 99 to 2001 is long-haired TC.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Vanilla Sky with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:54:11 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)