Tom Cruise might never have landed his role in Rain Man, but his sister ended up helping boost his career. Cruise was still a rising star by the time he started working on Rain Man, and the Best Picture winner cemented his credentials as an actor worth paying close attention to. Dustin Hoffman stars as an autistic savant with exceptional memory and intellectual skills, but trouble with social situations. Cruise plays his career-driven brother, who conspires to use his familial connection to get access to his father’s inheritance. The comedy-drama was met with positive reviews, and it scored four Oscars from eight nominations.

In a long-ranging talk about his career at London’s BFI, Cruise detailed the strange circumstances that led to him playing Charlie Babbitt in Rain Man. (via Variety) Cruise was in a New York City restaurant with his sister in 1984 when they spotted Dustin Hoffman from across the room.

“She goes, ‘There’s Dustin Hoffman.’ I looked up and there he was, in a hat — he was doing ‘Death of a Salesman’ — and he was ordering takeout. 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.”

Cruise says that he was only pressured into approaching Hoffman when his sister gave him an ultimatum: that he could introduce himself or she could do it for him. Trying to avoid embarrᴀssment, Cruise walked over to Hoffman, who recognized him immediately. The Midnight Cowboy actor invited Cruise and his sister to see him in Death of a Salesman, and to visit him backstage. This is where Cruise and Hoffman decided to work together.

“As I was leaving he said, ‘I want to make a movie with you.’ And I said, ‘That would be nice, sir. And that’s what happened, and basically a year later he sent ‘Rain Man.’”

What This Means For Cruise, Hoffman & Rain Man

Rain Man Has An Important Legacy, And Cruise Is Key To This

Before he became known for his daredevil stunts as an action hero, Rain Man produced one of Tom Cruise’s best dramatic performances. It’s easy to see how his career could have panned out differently if not for this chance meeting in a New York City restaurant. Even if Cruise were dining with someone other than his sister, he might never have met Dustin Hoffman and got the ball rolling on the project which would eventually become Rain Man. Hoffman had been trying to get Rain Man made for years, but Cruise was a vital component of the finished movie.

Rain Man remains one of Dustin Hoffman’s best movies, and one of the performances which has defined his illustrious career. It wouldn’t be the same without Cruise’s finely-balanced portrayal of an under-handed, self-centered character who nonetheless learns to care for his estranged brother. Rain Man was heralded as an important moment for the representation of people with learning difficulties in the United States and across the world. Cruise’s character often represents the ignorant, short-tempered atтιтude that many people held at the time, as Charlie struggles to understand Raymond.

Our Take On Cruise’s Casting In Rain Man

Cruise’s Sister Should Be Thanked

The value of Rain Man‘s representation has been debated over the years, and there’s an argument to be made that it contributes to harmful stereotypes. However, it certainly made an impact when it was first released, and it helped increase awareness of autism in the general public. While Hoffman’s performance is the one that so often gets the most credit – and rightly so – Cruise also deserves recognition for his part. He plays the character of Charlie Babbitt with just enough balance to make him appear relatable and shamefully oblivious at once. While the details of his casting came down to pure luck, and a nudge from his sister, Cruise was absolutely the right actor for Rain Man.

Source: Variety