The Tom Cruise movie Brad Pitt called “ridiculous”
When it comes to Hollywood icons of the 1990s, there are few stars bigger than Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, a pair of stars who elevated the industry at the tail-end of the 20th century and into the new millennium. Cruise famously made a name for himself in the 1980s, collaborating with Ridley Scott, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone before his career had even hit top gear.
If Cruise wasn’t a star before the ’90s, he was undoubtedly one once the decade came around, taking roles in hits such as Days of Thunder and A Few Good Men. Meanwhile, Pitt was also gaining industry prominence. Although he had appeared in several TV and film roles in the ‘80s, Pitt wouldn’t see true fame until the release of Scott’s Thelma and Louise in 1991, which thrusted the star into the limelight.
The two actors crossed paths in 1994 whilst at the peak of their ascendency, appearing side-by-side in the Neil Jordan horror drama Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles. Cruise had the starring role in the flick, but Pitt was second billing, creating a tense atmosphere on set as the two ambitious male actors vied for screen time and industry clout.
Despite the movie’s success, Pitt remembers Interview with the Vampire as one of his least satisfying projects. “I was disappointed with it,” he once told Rolling Stone. “Because in the book, it was a guy trying to figure out who he was – if he’s a god or if he’s of the devil. The film focused more on the sensational antics of Lestat, which were done really well, but my character ended up getting dragged place to place and set up for the sensational moments. And it just became a little bit more whiny than a real search. That frustrated me.”
In a separate conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Pitt recalled trying to get out of the project after signing. “I said, ‘David [Geffen, producer], I can’t do this anymore,” Pitt said. “I can’t do it. What will it cost me to get out?’ And he goes, very calmly, ‘Forty million dollars.’ And I go, ‘Okay, thank you.’ It actually took the anxiety off of me. I was like, ‘I’ve got to man up and ride this through, and that’s what I’m going to do.'”
Although the pair never became venomous towards each other on set, Pitt wasn’t too keen on Cruise. In 1995, he told Premiere, “I always thought there was this underlying competition that got in the way of any real conversation…It wasn’t nasty by any means, not at all. But it was just there and it bugged me a bit. But I’ll tell you, he catches a lot of s*** because he’s on top, but he’s a good actor and he advances in the film. He did it. I mean, you have to respect that”.
Although it appeared as though their minor feud had died down in the years that followed, Pitt was rather hateful towards one of Cruise’s movies, namely the 2008 spy thriller Valkyrie by director Bryan Singer.
Telling the story of a German soldier who attempts to assassinate Hitler during World War Two, the film starred Cruise alongside a supporting cast that included Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh and Terence Stamp. The film was somewhat similar to another movie Pitt was working on at the time, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, with the tonal differences between the films striking a nerve with the actor.
Speaking with the German magazine Stern, Pitt blasted Valkyrie, stating: “It was a ridiculous movie…The Second World War could still deliver more stories and films, but I believe that Quentin put a cover on that pot”.
Going further, he praised Tarantino’s take in contrast, revealing: “With Basterds, everything that can be said to this genre has been said. The film destroys every symbol. The work is done, end of story”.
Alas, after this interview circulated, Pitt either retracted his comments in hindsight or noticed that he had been misquoted. “Brad has never seen Valkyrie, so this is not accurate,” a spokesperson for Pitt once told The Indian Express.
Take a look at the trailer for Valkyrie, starring Cruise, below.
