The cult classic 1984 movie Tom Cruise refused to star in: “He knew he was the guy”
Tom Cruise does whatever Tom Cruise wants to do, and that’s been true since the beginning of his career.
Even though it was his first major role in a movie, the actor knew within seconds that he’d be cast in 1981’s Taps, and he was right. The unshakeable confidence he carries with him didn’t arrive when Top Gun made him a superstar five years later; it’s been there since the beginning.
It doesn’t always go to plan, though, with the daredevil admitting that following up his breakthrough with a terrible sex comedy wasn’t the way to go, and he was right, because Losin’ It was the drizzling shits. After that, he knew he had to be more judicious in choosing his work, and you can’t fault him for that.
His desire to work with Francis Ford Coppola saw him chase down a part in The Outsiders, and he followed that with Risky Business, his first box office smash as a leading man. Weirdly, though, Cruise said no to a 1984 cult classic immediately afterwards, didn’t appear onscreen at all that year, and when he did, it was with a film he vowed never to experience the likes of again.
Aptly describing itself as ‘A Rock & Roll Fable’ in the opening credits, Walter Hill’s Streets of Fire may have bombed at the box office the first time around, but its distinct combination of action, thrills, neon-soaked vistas, dystopian trappings, and a rock-heavy soundtrack made it a quietly influential picture.
Michael Paré played the leading role of Tom Cody, and it’s arguably the role he’s best remembered for today. It goes without saying that he’s no Tom Cruise, but what if Tom Cruise played Tom Cody? That was the plan, according to co-writer Larry Gross, but they couldn’t convince him to sign on the dotted line.
“There was always the idea that we were going to discover a new Steve McQueen, you know?” the scribe reminisced. “We wanted Tom Cruise.” Not just him, either, but Streets of Fire also wanted Darryl Hannah to play Ellen Aim, which ultimately went to Diane Lane, who’d co-starred with Cruise in The Outsiders.
“He just walked into the room, and you knew,” Gross went on. “Everybody knew. It’s very rare that it happens like that. Walter has likened it to this quality that Prince Hal has in Henry V: he knows he’s the guy, he doesn’t need to be told. He believes in himself in a different way than other people.”
As he explained, “It’s more than confidence, and it’s certainly not arrogance; it’s just the opposite, and Tom Cruise was that way.” That does sound an awful lot like the Mission: Impossible mainstay, but he clearly wasn’t enthusiastic at the prospect of Streets of Fire, or making anything that was released in 1984.
After his 12-month sabbatical, Ridley Scott’s Legend brought Cruise back to the silver screen, and it was such a shitshow that he said he never wanted to make another fantasy flick for as long as he lived. He hasn’t, but maybe he could have avoided it entirely if he’d starred in Hill’s movie instead.
