Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise are among the biggest action stars in the Hollywood industry. The actors have a massive fan following and have a long list of superhit films on their names. The two stars are famous for their versatile roles and utmost professionalism. Despite being among the greatest stars in the industry, the actors share an intense rivalry. However, Pitt owes his role in Guy Ritchie’s film Snatch to Tom Cruise.
Brad Pitt was establishing his career as an actor by the end of the ’90s when he did a film with Jason Statham, which helped him gain gravitas for playing serious roles. However, he would have not gotten the role, if Tom Cruise was not involved.
Tom Cruise helped finance Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
As per Contact Music, Tom Cruise played an integral part in saving Ritchie’s film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. As per reports, Trudie Styler had invited Cruise to join him at the buyer’s screening of the film. Once he watched the film he was full of praise for it.
Vaughn said,
“I was hysterical. You had all these mid-level executives sitting there, and Cruise walked in. He saw them all sit up and pay attention, all getting on their phones, and suddenly all these senior executives joined the screening.”
He shared that Top Gun: Maverick star advised people to bid for the film,
“At the end, Tom got up in front of everyone and said ‘this is the best movie I’ve seen in years, you guys would be fools not to make it.'”
After Tom Cruise made the announcement, people started bidding war. The film was saved by the actor, as he ensured that the film was distributed in the theatres.
However, even Jack Reacher star could not have estimated the far-reaching effect of his action. The first film led to more movies, which included 2000’s Snatch, which marked a path-breaking role of Brad Pitt.
Brad Pitt had reached out to the director for a role in Snatch
The director of Snatch, Guy Ritchie, shared in an interview with Esquire about his phone call with Hollywood star Brad Pitt for a role in his film. Pitt had called him after watching the previous film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
The director recalled,
“He called me and told me that he wanted to be part of whatever I was doing next.”
Brad Pitt shared in detail,
“At that time, I did something that I felt was very commercial, and I was really interested to see what new directors were doing and what was coming out. So, I was viewing everything of first-time directors, and I saw this movie, ‘Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,’ by this cat named Guy Ritchie. And so, I called him up and said, ‘Hey, I really like what you’re doing, and if there’s anything that I could fit in, then let’s talk.”
Guy Ritchie gave him the lead role of Mickey in his film Snatch. He was Irish Traveller “One Punch” Mickey O’Neil and was referred to as a Pikey.
Even after he accepted the role, he said he was nervous until the moment they were shooting, (via Landmark Cinemas):
“I play this Irish gypsy, and the dialect is unintelligible, contrary to being trained to be clear and understood. And so, I was working on the accent and trying to be clear and understood, and it wasn’t working. I went to him [Ritchie] the day before and I said, ‘Guy, I’m gonna f**k up your movie…”
The film was a commercial and critical success, which grossed $83.6 million worldwide. Snatch is available for streaming on Paramount+.
Source- Landmark Cinemas
