RDJ was AR’s pick for Lestat in 2010. Article here.
Knowing what I know now, I can totally see where she was going with that. Wrong for the part, yet also weirdly right…
Wow, is that ever the flip side of me celebrating that Cruise did _not_ get to play Tony Stark. Sheeeeez.
I… had never thought of it that way.
I didn’t know Cruise was even considered for Tony Stark! Apparently, yes. Dunno how reputable this source is, but PolicyMic offers an amusing reason why RDJ won out over TC (beware, triggering of TC fandom, tho!):
“…Tom Cruise was once slated to play Tony Stark in Iron Man… he demanded his face be entirely visible at all times, so the Iron Man armor would need a transparent visor. That was a little too much Diva-ness for the producers, so he got dumped. Instead, they went with this not-as-well-known actor called Robert Downey Jr. who wasn’t a sure bet because he was known to enjoy a little crack every now and then, but who nonetheless could act circles – and squares, triangles, and rhombuses – around Tom Cruise. Fortunately, that worked well for everyone, and now we have a Tony Stark for the ages, and Tom Cruise can live in a cave for all I care.
Mon dieu.
Cruise was ideal for Lestat. Ideal. Creating the impression that a terrifying well of real madness lurks just underneath the surface is where Cruise does his best work. He’s great in Magnolia. I love him in Top Gun. He would have made a good Bateman. And possibly a good Nolan-Batman as well (oxymoron though that phrase may be). And he made a stunning Lestat, even if he was about ten years too old.
He would have been terrible as Tony because Tony is a cocky, rich asshole (whose trajectory is towards learning to not be an asshole quite as much, I guess), and not a cocky, rich actual sociopath.
I will take this moment to tell everyone that my friends and I have actually speculated about what it would be like if Tony and Lestat hung out, and the answer is “terrible”. Despite the fact that they both love capitalism and cheesy metal, Lestat’s perma-21 European foppishness would drive Tony crazy, and Lestat would get intellectually insecure and have a Rice Out about it. The evening ends in either a) full-scale combat or b) each of them retiring to their respective lairs for extended snarking. Am taking bets.
United by a love of capitalism and cheesy metal! That’s AWESOME.
I had not heard that story about Cruise diva-ing himself out of playing Tony Stark. I _had_ heard that at some point Favreau was hearing from the studio “We want Tom Cruise, and under NO circumstances will you cast RDJ,” because at that point RDJ was only barely starting to be considered trustworthy to hire, again. (He went through a few years where productions couldn’t get insurance if they hired him.)
I now see how Cruise was perfect for Lestat, because I know more about his eccentricities now than I did when I was a high schooler. *sigh*
I-want-my-IWTV 