Tom Cruise recently shared how his sister, Cass, helped him land a role in Rain Man. During a talk at the British Film Institute event in London, Cruise recounted how Cass pushed him to introduce himself to Dustin Hoffman at a restaurant in the ’80s.
Tom Cruise reveals how sister Cass got him Rain Man role
Tom Cruise credits his younger sister Cass for helping him land one of the most important roles of his career. Speaking at the BFI event in London, Cruise shared the story of how she encouraged him to speak to Dustin Hoffman at a New York restaurant back in 1984. He had just returned from filming Legend and was out to eat with Cass when she noticed Hoffman across the room.
Cruise recalled, “She goes, ‘You go over there and say hello to him.’ I was like, ‘I’m not going to say hello.’ She goes, ‘You know him, you know his movies.’ And she doesn’t do stuff like that. And I don’t walk up to people, but she was so pushy.” When Cruise refused, Cass threatened that she would go over and introduce him instead. Not wanting that to happen, Cruise agreed. (via Variety)
He walked over, and to his surprise, Hoffman recognized him right away. That unexpected meeting led to Hoffman giving them tickets to Death of a Salesman and welcoming them backstage afterward. Cruise recalled, “As I was leaving, he said, ‘I want to make a movie with you.’ And I said, ‘That would be nice, sir.’”
About a year later, Cruise received the script for Rain Man. The movie ended up becoming a major hit and won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Hoffman.
Meanwhile, on the personal front, Cruise is also making headlines for his rumored relationship with Ana de Armas. The two were recently seen in London leaving David Beckham’s 50th birthday celebration together. Though Cruise arrived at the event alone, he was later spotted leaving with de Armas under umbrellas and getting into the same car. This followed their joint appearance in London for her 37th birthday.
