With three Oscar nominations to his name Tom Cruise has yet to win one (though it can’t be long before he’s given an honorary one surely?). But having earned a nom for his role in Oliver Stone’s, ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ he was keen to work on the directors next film. That next film would be ‘The Doors’ when Tom Cruise was going to be Jim Morrison. At least that’s what the actor was hoping when his agent contacted Stone and producer Mario Kassar whose production outfit Carolco had been putting out blockbusters like Terminator 2 and Total Recall.
A lunch was set up as according to Cruise’s agent he was “…. dying to play Jim Morrison. For Kassar it was a dream thinking what Tom Cruise would mean for foreign sales and the film’s budget and the producer suggests that the actor was almost begging for the role. But it was all in vain as Stone was already set on another actor saying ‘I don’t think he’s the right guy. I think I have another guy in mind’. Stone then showed Kassar Val Kilmer in character. Kassar immediately replied, ‘You know what? Fu*k, you’re right. Why do you have to be right? He looked exactly like him. I said, go for it. Val was so good in it, absolutely the right choice.”
Kilmer drew universal acclaim for the role but The Doors had no nominations at Oscars time and earned only $34m at the box office. Meanwhile Cruise went on to make ‘Far and Away’ with his then wife Nicole Kidman which earned $137m. To be fair Cruise did get to play a rocker in Rock of Ages (2012).
related feature : Jim Morrison’s mysterious death explored – ‘Before the End’ documentary director Jeff Finn reveals all
related feature : Val Kilmer obituary
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