Hollywood star Tom Cruise is known to have a commanding on-screen presence, a trait that extends to his off-screen persona as well, as he is often described as the “perfectionist” due to his meticulous approach to his craft.
And, while such a demeanor might be intimidating to some, one of his co-stars, Sarah Wright, had the unique chance to reverse the dynamic while working with Cruise in Doug Liman’s American Made.
Sarah Wright on Bossing Around Tom Cruise in American Made
Directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise and Sarah Wright, the 2017 film American Made is inspired by the real-life TWA pilot, Barry Seal, who becomes a drug smuggler and later a government informant to escape his jail time.
Wright took on the role of Cruise’s wife, Lucy Seal in the movie. Talking about working with Cruise in an interview with ScreenRant, the actress shared, “It was incredible. It was amazing to work with him.”
She described Lucy as a significant influence over Cruise’s character, which allowed her to be assertive and have an emotional power to drive key scenes. Reflecting on their on-screen dynamic, she said, “And to be able to boss him around and to sort of push him and drive some of those scenes it felt great.”
Wright also expressed the thrill of playing a strong female character while reflecting on how she developed a persona that added intensity to her interactions with Cruise.
I’m the south originally and I wanted to kinda harness that strong mama bear, southern woman quality, and that’s sort of the drive that we went within these scenes with Tom.
American Made was well-received both commercially and critically, with Cruise earning praise for his performance in the movie, which earned $134 million worldwide.
Sarah Wright on Her First Impressions of Tom Cruise
Sarah Wright further reflected on her experience working with Tom Cruise in an interview with Coveteur, where she described him as funny, warm, and someone who always makes everyone feel at ease.
He’s so funny and warm, and just very inclusive. He’s great at making everyone feel really comfortable and has that sort of Southern guy mentality where he’s always taking care of everyone.
The Parks and Recreation actress also recalled her first meeting with Cruise and appreciated how the Mission: Impossible star attempted to make her comfortable and at ease.
[He’s] standing outside with those Ray-Ban sunglasses on… So I get out of the car and walk over, and he shakes my hand. He was like, ‘[Let’s] just stand outside and talk for a minute, get to know each other,’ and I was like, ‘Ok. Whatever you want to do. I love it!’ He wanted me to feel very comfortable.
Wright was last seen on-screen in the AMC sitcom Home Economics and her last film credit includes The Place of No Words. The actress has since co-founded the parenting site Your Zen Mama with fellow actress and friend Teresa Palmer.
They have since released a book titled The Zen Mama Guide to Finding Your Rhythm in Pregnancy, Birth, and Beyond and the duo also run a podcast titled, The Mother Daze.
American Made is available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video.
