Tom Cruise is one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood, thanks to his recent string of hits such as the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun sequels. However, Cruise made a name for himself in the 1990s and early 2000s by working with several visionary directors, including the likes of Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.
Despite critical acclaim for his collaborations with auteurs, Cruise has distanced himself from them. Instead, the actor has stuck to the tried and tested action formula, which mostly resulted in box office success for him. However, there is a surprising reason why Cruise no longer works with directors like Spielberg and Scorsese, and here is everything you need to know about it.
The Surprising Reason Tom Cruise Does Not Work With Visionary Directors
Tom Cruise‘s collaborations with acclaimed filmmakers marked most of his early career. He made waves with Francis Ford Coppola’s ensemble crime drama The Outsiders. Cruise went on to team up with the likes of Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
However, these thoughtful projects stopped around 2005, with the actor solely focusing on commercial films. For instance, Cruise’s only releases in the last seven years come from the Mission: Impossible franchise and the Top Gun sequel. Moreover, he has mostly worked with Joseph Kosinski, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dough Liman who aren’t exactly auteurs.
The reason why Cruise might have changed his career trajectory lies in the actor’s 2005 appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s show, where he was overenthusiastic about his relationship with Katie Holmes. The same year Cruise clashed with Matt Lauer during an interview, where aspects of his personal life were discussed.
The incidents largely hurt Cruise’s credibility and raised questions about his public persona. As a result, it is likely that Cruise’s career choices after this point were carefully selective and only serviced the larger-than-life action star persona we see today. Hence, it wouldn’t be in Cruise’s best interest to work with directors who require him to surrender to the character he is playing.
Christopher McQuarrie Provided an Alternate Reason Tom Cruise Doesn’t Work With Famous Directors
Since 2005, Cruise’s career has seen a considerable shift, with the actor looking for projects with commercial value. As a result, he has been criticized for becoming risk averse, which is a direct result of the lack of collaboration with visionary directors.
However, Christopher McQuarrie who has collaborated with Cruise more than any other director in the past decade does not feel that way. Speaking with Deadline, McQuarrie revealed that Cruise had always been a risk-taker with his movies.
The director explained that a movie like Magnolia wasn’t much of a risk since it had an ensemble cast and a solid director in Paul Thomas Anderson. Instead, the actor took risks by backing filmmakers like Brad Bird and himself, which McQuarrie felt spoke more about Cruise’s philosophy.
His philosophy is very simple. He wants to make entertainment and he wants to make it in a way where those who invest in it see a return on that investment. It’s really that simple.
McQuarrie said, confirming that Cruise had changed his priorities in this phase of his career and the actor cared about the financial outcome of his projects, especially since they are mounted on such large budgets. Therefore, it is easy to understand why Cruise plays it considerably safe with his collaborations and choice of movies.
