Director Terry Gilliam has revealed that he rejected a bid from megastar Tom Cruise to join “The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus” after the death of Heath Ledger.
“I’m not sure if it was Tom or his agent [who put Cruise forward for the role],” Gilliam tells Total Film. “I know there was a period when Tom’s agents were keen. The thing is, I was only interested in people who were friends of Heath. Simple as that. I wanted to keep it in the family.”
Interestingly, in 2007 Cruise went on to film a cameo in “Tropic Thunder” as agent Len Grossman, a part which put the actor on the road to restoring his reputation tarnished by the likes of his infamous 2005 “jumping the couch” Oprah interview. Seems like Cruise’s P.R. people were really earning their wages that year trying to get the actor a chance at on-screen redemption.
Gilliam not falling for the bait probably worked out better for both parties though – a Cruise cameo would have really turned ‘Doctor Parnassus’ into a farce and, judging from all the film’s post-Cannes reactions, probably wouldn’t have done Cruise any favors either.