Rob Lowe reflected on his audition for The Outsiders which saw his co-star Tom Cruise, losing his temper over the most ordinary situation.
Tom Cruise is one of the biggest and most bankable commercial stars in the world. However, that wasn’t the case back in the 1980s, when Cruise appeared in the coming-of-age crime drama film The Outsiders. In the movie, Cruise was featured alongside Rob Lowe along with other emerging talents of the time, such as Patrick Swayze and Ralph Macchio.
Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise appeared together in The Outsiders (Credit: Warner Bros).
During a podcast appearance, Lowe spoke about his experience working on the movie, recalling an incident involving Cruise going ballistic when he was asked to do one thing with his co-star. Moreover, the incident took place even before Cruise and Lowe were officially cast in the movie, and here is what Lowe had to say about it.
Tom Cruise Did Not Like Being Asked to Share a Room With Rob Lowe
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, 1983’s The Outsiders featured an ensemble cast that included Tom Cruise, who was just two movies old in Hollywood at the time. The film also starred Rob Lowe, who appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by Dax Shepard where he talked about the film.
On the podcast, Lowe recalled working with Cruise on the movie, who was roughly 18 years old at the time. The Parks and Recreation star revealed that after the initial auditions in Los Angeles, a group of actors including himself and Cruise were taken to New York, where he and Cruise were assigned the same room.
[It was the] first time I ever stayed at The Plaza Hotel, and we check-in and Tom finds out that we’re sharing a room and just goes ballistic. It made me laugh, it was gnarly.
Lowe made the above statement regarding the incident where Cruise lost his temper over the situation and was amused by the youngster’s reaction.
The actor also admitted that he wasn’t in the slightest offended by Cruise’s reaction. Lowe revealed that he mostly had a pleasant experience while working with Cruise on the movie. Moreover, he stated that Cruise’s ballistic reaction was a sign of his true personality that made him the star he is today.
Rob Lowe Recalled Getting Knocked Out By Tom Cruise
While Lowe had an overall good experience with Cruise while working on The Outsiders, the actor did take a nasty hit from his co-star which he still remembers. During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Lowe recalled sparring with the Mission: Impossible star while filming the movie.
Rob Lowe frequently sparred with Tom Cruise while shooting The Outsiders (Credit: NBC).
The actor revealed that he and Cruise would often wear boxing gear and spar with each other in the hotel corridor where they were staying. However, Cruise was considerably more jacked than Lowe, as the latter admitted not being focused on working out. He said (via The Hollywood Reporter):
I hit him real clean and I rang his bell. And the next thing I knew I woke up and I was coming to on the floor. He like completely knocked me out.
Lowe chalked up the incident to their testosterone-fueled teenage years and boredom while being stuck in the hotel rooms. However, the actor praised Cruise for his strength.
Furthermore, Lowe admitted to having hit Cruise straight in the eye, which resulted in the latter making an instinctive move that ended up knocking him out. Despite getting floored by his co-star, Lowe had nothing but nice things to say about Cruise, proving they had a good time working with each other.
The Outsiders can be rented on Amazon Prime Video.
