Tom Cruise has been called a multitude of names throughout his Hollywood career. Amongst these names, the Top Gun actor has also been hailed as a loyal person since he left an Oscar-winning picture back in 2001 to reunite with his favorite director.

Talking about the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind, Tom Cruise was set to star in the movie which later went to director Ron Howard. On the other side, Cruise went back to the Jerry Maguire director Cameron Crowe as they created the 2001 movie Vanilla Sky.

Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky.

When Tom Cruise Chose His Friend Over An Oscar

Starring in a 1996 movie, Tom Cruise and director Cameron Crowe made a good bond during the shooting of the film. After the movie’s success, Cruise was hired for the lead role in the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind which won several Oscars after its release.

Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind (2001).

The Mission: Impossible actor, however, did not make an appearance in the movie and instead, went back to his old friend Cameron Crowe to create another movie which did earn the actor several praise and fame. As per the reports, in 2001, the movie was originally going to be directed by Robert Redford and starring Tom Cruise in the lead role.

Due to several reasons, the movie went to notable director Ron Howard who later cast Russell Crowe in the lead role for A Beautiful Mind. Considering the infamous enmity between the two, Cruise also went back to one of his good friends and created the 2001 movie Vanilla Sky with Cameron Crowe. A Beautiful Mind went on to earn 4 Oscars while Vanilla Sky was nominated for an Oscar in the music category.

The Infamous Enmity Between Russell Crowe And Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in The Mummy (2017).

Nicole Kidman had once been married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001. During their divorce, notable actor Russell Crowe, who is a dear friend to Nicole Kidman. An insider close to the actor explained that Crowe did not ever forget the way Cruise treated her.

“He hasn’t been able to stand Tom for years. Russell is a loyal guy and never forgave Tom for the way he treated Nicole… If they’d stayed friends, he would’ve felt he was betraying Nic, so he froze Tom out of his life.” 

Nicole Kidman even talked about how she had originally met Russell Crowe.

“[I met] Russell in a place in Darlinghurst at my boyfriend’s house, and Russell came to a party where we invited I think 500 people. And I attempted to cook paella. And I didn’t cook the rice, so it was crunchy. Not good. Throw it out, bring out the beer.”

With great movies to their names, A Beautiful Mind and Vanilla Sky are available to stream on Prime Video.

Source: Cinemablend