The Jack Reacher author has one (small) problem with Tom Cruise, and you can probably guess it
The one thing that the A-lister will never be able to shake according to author Lee Child
Throughout his career, Tom Cruise has had the best and the worst of a lot of situations.
Biggest heartthrob in the world? Sure, but you’ll have to wait 30 years for a Top Gun sequel in order to reprise your most iconic role.
Great gigs like the Mission: Impossible franchise? Fine, but you need to make someone with the name ‘Ethan’ seem cool, which is really, really difficult.
Cruise’s latest issue, though, is comfortably out of his control. Or out of his reach, you might say…
The 56-year-old actor has recently been seen in Jack Reacher, starring as the eponymous character in the 2011 and 2016 big-screen adaptations of works by author Lee Child.
However, Cruise will not be involved in the small-screen reboot, and Child has put this down to the actor’s physical attributes. Of course, when we say ‘physical attirbutes’, we mean height.
The Magnolia and Cocktail star wasn’t held back by his height when playing a motivational speaker or a barman, but Child has been insistent on the unsuitability of a 5’7” man for the role.
Presumably all those jacks he has to reach are really high up, or something.
“Ultimately the readers are right. The size of Reacher is really, really important and it’s a big component of who he is,” Child told the BBC.
“The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you’re all a little nervous just for that first minute. And Cruise, for all his talent, didn’t have that physicality.
“I want all those readers who were upset about Tom Cruise to help me out - participate in choosing the right actor for the TV series. We’re rebooting and starting over and we’re going to try and find the perfect guy.”
It turns out Jack Reacher: Never Go Back wasn’t just the title of the second film – it was also Child’s advice to the star.
(Images: Getty)
