When you're an industry veteran like Michael Caine, rising stars and actors trying to cut their teeth in Hollywood want to ask countless questions. Who would know the trials and tribulations better than someone who has already experienced them? This kind of advice can secure someone's place in the industry for decades. Who knows if we see Tom Cruise rise to the heights he did if not for someone like Michael Caine and his guidance?
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Recently, Caine spoke with The Sunday Times newspaper for an interview. There, he promotes his new memoir Don't Look Back, You'll Trip Over. Additionally, he recalls meeting a young Tom Cruise in 1983 feverishly asking for advice and guidance as he ascends into superstardom. "I turned around and there was this young actor, very polite, asking questions about how not to be just a flash in the pan. That was Tom, probably around the time of Risky Business," Michael shares.
Michael Caine Gives Advice to a Young Tom Cruise While Promoting Educating Rita
Admittedly, Michael doesn't quite recall exactly what he shared with the young Cruise. However, he goes on to give the Mission: Impossible star a ton of love and admiration for his work in the film industry. "I can't remember what I said, but it obviously didn't do him any harm! There was something special about him. He had a great attitude, this sense of poise. What interests me is that he is really one of the last true stars in movies," Michael Caine says. "People will go to see a film just because he's in it. Brad Pitt is a star, Morgan Freeman has some of that quality too. There are so few nowadays — not like John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant."
Can't say that Michael Caine is wrong at all about Tom Cruise then or now. Studios rerack all of their plans to adjust for Tom Cruise's vision for a film.
