Ben Stiller’s 2008 satirical comedy, Tropic Thunder, had the audience in splits with its over-the-top characters and a hilarious script like never before. Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise, and Jack Black were again and again praised by critics for their incredible performances. Author Stephen King called the film “the funniest, most daring comedy of the year.”
But what if we tell you that the film’s original script did not have Tom Cruise’s iconic cameo as the foul-mouthed studio executive, Les Grossman? That’s right, the character only came to fruition after Tom Cruise himself suggested it. In fact, the superstar had a couple of demands for the role which confused Ben Stiller initially, but the actor/director couldn’t stop laughing it about later.
Tom Cruise Confused Ben Stiller with His Demands
Les Grossman is one of the most unforgettable roles of Tom Cruise’s career. What’s even better is the actor himself was responsible for the birth of that character. In an interview with BBC Radio One, Cruise recalled how Les came to life after Ben Stiller asked the actor to read the script of Tropic Thunder. While the script had everything one could imagine, Cruise felt that something was missing.
“I read the script and he had all of the characters, but the studio wasn’t there. There was a structural compression missing down on those characters, you know, that keeps the pressure on these guys that really drives the story. I was like, ‘You need the studio.’”
When Stiller came back with a new character added to the script, Cruise was so pleasantly surprised that he asked if he could play the role himself. He then made two absurd demands that left Stiller searching for words.
“So he came back a few weeks later and I started reading. I read this character and I said, ‘This is fun,’ I said, ‘Do you mind, Ben? I want to play this character. I said, ‘I want to have fat hands and I want to dance.’ And he looked at me and he’s like, ‘What…Are you sure? Can’t you just be you, like, look like you?’ I said, ‘No man, I’m sorry I don’t know how else to play this character.”
Perhaps Cruise was envisioning a bald, fat-handed character while he was reading Stiller’s version of a studio executive and it stuck with him. We cannot say we are complaining as the results turned out to be absolute perfection!
Ben Stiller Couldn’t Stop Laughing at Tom Cruise
The next step was to bring Cruise’s vision to life which was accomplished by a makeup test. Recalling the moment, the Mission: Impossible actor stated that while there was no music playing in the room, he just had to bust out a few moves for the filmmaker.
“I did the makeup test. We tested the fat hands and the whole look. So we’re doing the wardrobe and there was no music playing, and I said, ‘Look let me just…I want to do some moves for you.’ So I just started, like, working, just kind of moving like that.”
Later, after Stiller was done editing Cruise’s dance and putting on some music, he called the actor and finally bowed down to his vision.
“He just called me, he was laughing. He like picked the music out, he edited this thing together. He was just pissing himself. He sent it to me and he’s like, ‘Okay I get it, I get it.’”
There’s no one like Tom Cruise in the entertainment industry, is there? The actor knew what would be the perfect addition to the perfect satirical comedy and absolutely aced the character onscreen.
You can rent/buy Tropic Thunder from Prime Video.
Source: BBC Radio 1
