Although his breakthrough came more than a decade ago through Risky Business (1983), 1984’s Interview with the Vampire still plays a significant role in Tom Cruise’s resume. Embodying the titular vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, he gave one of his best performances to date despite the excruciating pain the preparation of it all had him going through.
Before this, he had already starred in pieces among the likes of Top Gun and Born on the Fourth of July. But while that critical acclamation wasn’t enough to persuade most that he could be the perfect choice for Lestat, what had Neil Jordan convinced about Cruise’s casting was the romantic tragedy of his life – his very fame that had him living his life hidden from the public gaze.
Tom Cruise’s Fame-Filled Life Had Neil Jordan Convinced About His Casting
After the casting of the Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt as Louis de Pointe du Lac in Interview with the Vampire, the major issue was to find out who would serve as his perfect opponent as Lestat de Lioncourt. This had the filmmaker searching far and wide for actors who could actually prove to be worthy of the role before coming across the Mission: Impossible actor.
Surprisingly enough, apparently, it took the director only two trips to Tom Cruise‘s house in Brentwood after the actor had already secured commendable heights of fame for himself to convince him that he would serve as the most accurate Lestat. This conclusion came from his observation of the fact of just how much the actor had in common with the character from Anne Rice’s book.
In an excerpt from his new memoir, director Neil Jordan shared the same. According to him, just like Lestat did as a vampire, the Jack Reacher actor also had to lead his life hidden from the public gaze because of his fame. While this served as a tragic element of his life like pretty much all other celebs’, this quality tremendously appealed to Jordan.
Per the published draft by The Telegraph, Jordan wrote: “I finally got it. He had to live a life removed from the gaze of others. He had made a contract with the hidden forces, whatever they turned out to be. He had to hide in the shadows, even in the Hollywood sunlight. He would be eternally young. He was a star. He could well be Lestat.”
It’s worth noting that, before Cruise, Jordan had also offered the role to Daniel Day-Lewis, who sincerely backed off, because “a few years before, he had confined himself to a wheelchair to play Christy Brown in ‘My Left Foot.’ He would have had to sleep in a coffin for the entirety of this production if he followed the same practice. So we moved on.”
Nonetheless, close observation of this romantic tragedy of The Mummy star’s life had the filmmaker convinced about whom he wanted onboard to bring Lestat to life in the most perfect manner possible. But this casting didn’t sit well with fans for reasons one too many, and even Jordan couldn’t help but express surprise at how perfectly he nailed the role despite all the backlash.
“It must have been very difficult”: Neil Jordan on Tom Cruise Amid the IwtV Backlash
In that same memoir, Jordan also went on to note that Cruise is “also a superb actor,” as was especially depicted through his performance in the film. However, he also admitted that “that small fact got lost in the outrage that followed.” That said, talking with The Guardian in another interview, he also admitted how hard it must have been for the actor to work amid the backlash.
Acknowledging that “it must have been very difficult” for the Edge of Tomorrow star to give such an amazing performance amid the backlash, Jordan said, “The entire world said, ‘You are miscast.’ He’s a great actor. If he says he can do something, he will do it in a way that people will be shocked by. Tom has become the last remaining film star. It’s kind of strange.”
Well, for what it’s worth, the mastermind filmmaker Jordan wasn’t wrong about any of these above-listed things — be it about his observation of the similarities he noticed between Cruise and his onscreen vampire or the fact that Tom Cruise is, in fact, one of the most amazing actors to have debuted in Hollywood’s entertainment industry to date.
Interview with the Vampire can currently be streamed on Netflix.
