Last summer,Tom Cruisewas hailed as the savior of cinema whenTop Gun: Mavericksoared to the top of the box office. However, in a new interview withSlashfilm, cinematographer Mikael Salomon revealed that the A-list actor has always had his finger on the pulse when it comes to what does and doesn’t work in Hollywood. Having been set to directThe Mask of Zorro, Salomon explained how Cruise was producer Steven Spielberg’s original choice to play the lead role, but the actor turned it down based on the fact he believed the movie needed a Latino lead.
The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of ZorrosawAntonio Banderas transforming into the legendary swordsman, and although the film was still accused of whitewashing thanks to the casting of Welsh actors Catherine Zeta Jones and Anthony Hopkins in roles as characters that would have been of Latin origin in the context of the story, Cruise apparently made a “very smart” move to prevent himself being cast alongside them. Salomon explained:
“Who else was [in the mix]? Some big — oh yeah, Tom Cruise. Early on, [Spielberg] wanted to offer it to him. Have you heard that? He wanted to offer it to Tom Cruise. And my friend and countryman Bille August had done The House of the Spirits with all non-Latinos, and he got in so much hot water because of that, and they picketed the movie in South America. And I said to Steven, ‘You know, that’s probably not a good idea, just for that reason.'”
“One day I was doing a commercial and my assistant said, ‘Mikael, there’s Tom Cruise on the phone for you.’ ‘Tom Cruise? Okay.’ I had worked with him on ‘Far and Away.’ I was the [director of photography] on ‘Far and Away.’ So he called me up and said, ‘Thanks for the offer, but I think it’s not a great idea for me to do this movie because, as you know…’ I said, ‘Tom, you’re a very smart guy. Absolutely, you’re absolutely right.'”
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Tom Cruise Is Usually Right About Hollywood
As one of the biggest stars in the business, Tom Cruise is someone who holds a fair amount of weight in Hollywood. Having savedThe Mask of Zorroby not taking the lead in the movie, the actor has rarely put a foot wrong when it comes to choosing his roles, and striving to ensure authenticity in the characters he portrays.
Evenhis role inThe Last Samurai, a movie accused of playing the “White Savior” trope, is one that has been reassessed over time, and has subsequently been seen as one of the most important movies in recent cinema when it comes to the depiction of Asian people in Western productions.
In recent years, Hollywood has made a conscious effort torepresent many races in movies, but that has led to its own wave of, mostly online, backlash for many historicallywhite characters being race-swappedin remakes and reboots of well-known movies. As a subject that will always cause division, there are still many lessons to be learned, but it seems that Tom Cruise learned them all a long time ago.
