Why Tom Cruise's Tropic Thunder Role Never Should Have Worked

les grossman doesn’t need his own movie. the character just needs to appear in every movie about hollywood and that in itself will create a shared universe

Im not even a fan of Tom, but he absolutely killed this performance. And i was definitely one of the people that didn't even know it was him until the credits rolled. 😂

Honestly, the fact Tom's role is an anomaly in his career is what makes that character great. The initial "is that... Is that Tom Cruise?" Makes that whole role even better. I think revisiting it for more than a cameo would kind of cheapen it.

I am not a huge Cruise fan but he literally transformed into Weinstein. He knew exactly what he was doing and it was perfect. It was ALL him. Stiller was totally skeptical about Tom's vision for Grossman till he saw it and was blown away. It is amazing how few people even knew it was Tom. He earned my respect in this film for sure!

The movie Tropic Thunder is the very definition of catching lightning in a bottle. The cast the characters the plot...excellent. 👏👏👏

Tom definitely has a huge comic talent. He should do two or three comedy movies before he retires.

Hands down one of the best comedies made. My friends and I are still quoting this film 15 years later

Tropic Thunder as a movie proved that there were some who were not afraid to make fun of everyone for a laugh. This was my generation's Blazing Saddles. The character of Les Grossman was pure comedic genius. I think that the shock of Cruse playing the role himself, adds more to the performance as it is not his normal genre. I am reminded of the career of Leslie Neilson and how he started out being known for dramatic/ leading man roles. It was the movie Airplane where he went outside of his normal genre and was known for doing serious comedy. While I do not see Tom Cruse totally jumping into comedy I can see it being something that Cruse will do from time to time.

Don't forget that right around the time this movie was being made, Cruise was in the news for all the wrong reasons, much of which made him appear to be taking himself waaaaaay too seriously. This role was a perfect opportunity for him to soften his image up just a bit, and it worked.

He was absolutely phenomenal in Tropic Thunder, and the fact that he was able to identify something "missing" from Ben's story says a lot about his genius-level understanding of Hollywood -- both in terms of what would make the story more convincing/compelling, and in terms of what would improve the comedy. Also, I always love the looks on reactors' faces when they go, "Wait... is that TOM CRUISE?? 🤯🤯" 😂🤣. Please do not make a movie of him, just let us have that moment, haha. I do hope to see what other characters he plays with in his mind, though.

Cruise deserved an Oscar nomination for this. Seriously.

Great video Nerdstalgic. One name you did not mention was Bill Hader. So often, great performances are accentuated by those who are around him. As you mentioned, the interplay between Cruise and McConaughey was terrific. But Hader was important in his role supporting Grossman, giving the producer a loyal 'follower'.... someone who was on Les' side.

Say what you want about TC and his personal life, but you cannot deny his passion/enthusiasm for cinema.

How can you not appreciate Tom Cruise for the cinematic genius that he is?

Can’t believe Tropic Thunder was now 16 years ago 😮

I am in the camp of folks who didn't recognize Tom in my first viewing of Tropic Thunder. Once you know it is him, you can't unsee it. I hope he had as much fun playing this character as it appears.

Don't think Grossman can carry a whole movie, but it certainly did tie the whole movie together nicely. Always had much respect for Cruise as an actor despite being a weird guy as a person.

I think we love Les Grossman so much because obviously it is a good character within the film but we love the character because it's Tom Cruise playing him. Tom doesn't do alot of these type of roles and that is why we cherish and love it so much. Had Tom been a comedy actor like Saccha Baron Cohen and we would have liked the character but not love and cherish it. Quality over quantity

I saw Tropic Thunder in theaters, and I didn't realize that was Tom Cruise until the credits rolled. Fantastic movie.

Thanks for sharing. Love the film, especially TC dancing alone during the end credits! Didn't know all the production backstory and it took a few minutes to realize that was TC playing Les Grossman the first time I saw it. S.R., Mo-Mutt Music