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Tom Cruise is Hollywood’s biggest action star.Top Gun: Maverickbecoming the second-highest-grossing film of 2022, just behindAvatar 2, cemented his position as the most bankable star of the film industry again. However, he wasn’t always seen as the top A-list actor in the industry. Once upon a time in the 80s, he stole a 1989 film from Charlie Sheen that went on to gross $162 million on a budget of about $17 million and changed the trajectory of his career.
Tom Cruise Stole Charlie Sheen’s Role InBorn On The Fourth Of July
As per The Hollywood Reporter, it was Charlie Sheen who was originally set to getTom Cruise’srole of Sergeant Ron Kovic inBorn on the Fourth of July. Apparently, Sheen thought that after collaborating with Director Oliver Stone on the critically acclaimed and commercially successful filmPlatoon(that grossed $138 million domestically and gave Stone his first Oscar for directing) he was going to be inBorn on the Fourth of July.But that didn’t happen. As per Sheen during a 2001 Playboy interview:
“He (Stone) said we were going to have a relationship like Scorsese and De Niro. He said Al Pacino wanted to do the movie (Born on the Fourth of July), De Niro wanted to — everybody wanted to — and ‘I’m going to give you this movie.”
Read More:“As long as you don’t fluff what you’re saying…”: Did Tom Cruise’s Lack of Creative Control Lead to Massive $410M Movie Failure That Killed MCU’s Potential Rival Franchise?
However, Sheen didn’t get the film. In fact, as per the actor, Stone didn’t even call him to say that Cruise had replaced him. It was his brother and actor Emilio Estevez, who told him the news. As per Sheen:
“Hurt… I wouldn’t have cared if Oliver had called me personally, based on what we’d been through. We fought two wars you know. But here was a crucial point for both of us, and he couldn’t even call me and say, ‘I’ve changed my mind?”
The role changed Tom Cruise’s career and got him his first Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category. But should Charlie Sheen have been given that opportunity instead? Experts have varied opinions on it.
Read More:Tom Cruise Banned His Ex-wife Katie Holmes From Flying With Christian Bale and Her Co-stars While Shooting Batman Begins? Mystery Debunked
Should Charlie Sheen Have Got The Film Instead Of Tom Cruise?
Jim Emerson, the editor of Roger Ebert’s website, said that it’s understandable why Oliver Stone chose Tom Cruise instead ofCharlie Sheenin his film. As per Emerson:
“Tom Cruise was a much bigger name: Risky Business, Top Gun, Color of Money, Rain Man. Did people pay specifically to see Charlie Sheen in Red Dawn, Platoon, Wall Street, Young Guns, Eight Men Out? Not so much.”
Anthony Morris for SBS said that with the role inBorn on the Fourth of July,Cruise showed everyone that he could act. Morris wrote:
“It was his (Tom Cruise’s) first real chance to show major audiences that he could really act – that there was more to him than charm, confidence and that thousand-watt smile.”
Read More:Veteran Showrunner Chuck Lorre of Two and a Half Men Fame, Who Was Called a “miserable fking d*bag” by Charlie Sheen, Donates $30 Million for a New School
But would the success of Cruise’s Ron Kovic role have been replicated by Sheen? Caryn James, an ex-New York Times critic, thinks so. As per James:
“Sheen might have been fantastic in what we know as the Cruise role. He was still, for good reason, taken seriously as an actor. If you look at his career in the late 80’s — Platoon, Wall Street, Eight Men Out — Fourth of July would have kept him on that path.”
However, in the end, the conversation arrived at Sheen’s personal life. Reports of alcohol and drug abuse compiled with allegations of marital discord and violence swerved the actor’s life in a narrow lane that has brought him only shame and anonymity. As Caryn James said,“What a waste of talent.”
Studio 360 host Kurt Andersen said that even ifBorn on the Fourth of Julywould have helped him get the same Oscar nomination that Tom Cruise got, the actor would still probably be facing the same situation he is now. Cruise will be seen next inMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Onewhile Sheen will be seen in the showRamble On.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Onewill release on 22 July 2025, andRamble Onhas no release date yet.
Source:THRandSBS
Ishita Chatterjee
Content Writer
Articles Published :750
Ishita is an Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows, with over 700 articles published. She has been working in the entertainment and pop-culture niche for more than 4 years. With a English Literature degree, Ishita generally covers news and analyses on Foundation, Ted Lasso, Severance, and more.A lifelong DC fan, Ishita spends her time watching and re-watching everything in the DC universe (yes, even including the Arrowverse shows).
