Tom Cruise is one of the biggest stars on the planet, and even as big as he is today, I would argue he may have been even bigger in the 90s. He was coming off Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, and his star was shining bright.But he was circling in on a Stephen King adaptation at Castle Rock, where he'd play a banker falsely accused of killing his wife.That's right, Tom Cruise was set on being Andy Dufresne in the Shawshank Redemption.Let's dive into the story. - YouTubewww.youtube.comAt the time, Rob Reiner was set to direct, and Cruise had enjoyed working with him on A Few Good Men. Of course, Reiner didn't direct it, and Frank Darabont eventually stepped in to do it.At the time, Cruise still circled the role."I think he was a bit nervous working for a first-time director. I don't blame him for that," Darabont said. "But he might have been too big for the movie I wanted to make. It wasn't a Cool Hand Luke role where you want Paul Newman. It was a little less bold, more subtle than that."At that stage in his career, Cruise was accustomed to collaborating with a veritable who's who of established Hollywood directors, including Sydney Pollack, Rob Reiner, and Ron Howard.As you can tell by Darabont's quote, there was a sense that Cruise's star power might have inadvertently overshadowed the subtle, character-driven narrative. The casting of a less globally recognized actor like Robbins ultimately served the...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday