Tom Cruise reveals how he landed ‘Rain Man' opposite Dustin Hoffman
Tom Cruise has revealed the story of how he landed his role opposite Dustin Hoffman in 1988's Rain Man.
Speaking at the British Film Institute, which honoured him this week with its prestigious BFI fellowship, the legendary actor shared how a chance meeting with Hoffman at a New York City restaurant led to their collaboration in the beloved dramedy.
Having just completed filming on Ridley Scott's Legend back in 1985, Cruise recounted how he was having lunch with his sister Cass when she spotted Hoffman across the dining room.
'She goes, 'There's Dustin Hoffman.' I looked up and there he was, in a hat — he was doing Death of a Salesman — and he was ordering takeout,' Cruise recalled, according to Variety, Entertainment Weekly, Deadline and PEOPLE.
'She goes, 'You go over there and say hello to him.' I was like, 'I'm not going to say hello.' She goes, 'You know him, you know his movies.' And she doesn't do stuff like that. And I don't walk up to people, but she was so pushy.'
His sister then gave him an ultimatum: 'My sister says, 'If you don't go up and say hello to him, I'm going to say hello to him,' and I was like 'Oh my god.''
Worried about being embarrassed publicly, Cruise acquiesced and approached the two-time Oscar winner.
'Finally she pestered me so much I said fine and walked over there. He had his hat on and was obviously ordering take out and I said 'Mr. Hoffman, I'm sorry,' And he looked at me and said 'Cruise!''
Hoffman invited Cruise and his sister to watch him on Broadway and afterwards they chatted backstage.
'So we were there, and as I was leaving, he said, 'I want to make a movie with you.' I was like, 'That'd be nice,' ' Cruise said. 'I was very Southern: Yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma'am, no ma'am …. And basically a year later he sent me Rain Man.'
The Oscar-winning film cast Cruise as a self-absorbed car dealer who embarks on a road trip with his autistic half-brother (Hoffman) after he learns that their father has left him his $3 million fortune to pay for his medical care.
The film dominated awards season that year, winning best picture at the Oscars, in addition to best director for Barry Levinson, actor for Hoffman and original screenplay for Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow.
Cruise told moderator Edith Bowman that he shared with Hoffman how his 1967 classic The Graduate was a major influence on his 1983 breakout movie Risky Business.
He also shared a piece of advice Hoffman gave him. 'Hoffman and I spent two years working together. One of the things he took me through is everything he did on Kramer vs Kramer,' Cruise explained. 'Dustin told me how he structured the scenes based on the talent of his son in the movie and how to film it so that that actor really was what you needed.'
Rain Man was released in the midst of a hot streak that found Cruise appearing in films like Cocktail, Born of the Fourth of July (for which he was nominated for his first Oscar) and a role opposite Paul Newman in The Color of Money. It also followed the first Top Gun, which was a worldwide hit.
Cruise said that after that high-flying movie, he withstood calls for a sequel and sought out different parts.
'They really wanted me to make Top Gun over and over,' Cruise said. 'But I wanted to develop my talent in different areas, and I wanted more challenges.'
Going forward, after appearing in 2012's adaptation of the jukebox musical Rock of Ages, Cruise said he wants to try belting out more songs on the big screen.
'Definitely a musical. Absolutely, musicals,' the actor said of future films he hopes to be a part of. 'You know, dramas, action adventures. It's endless. My goals are endless.'
Cruise is in the midst of a global press tour to support the latest — and supposedly final — Mission: Impossible movie.
Set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week, the new adventure finds Cruise's Ethan Hunt trying to stop a terrifying artificial intelligence threat determined to wipe out mankind.
Speaking to Postmedia at the red carpet premiere for the previous entry — Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning — back in 2023, Cruise said the nearly 30-year globe-trotting adventure series allowed him to realize his childhood dreams.
'I get to travel the world. I always wanted to go make movies and travel the world,' he said. 'That's what I love doing.'
mdaniell@postmedia.com
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