One of the main attractions of the 2008’s Tropic Thunder is Tom Cruise’s performance as the vicious studio executive, Les Grossman. Even though the actor is generally known for his big action flicks, including the Mission: Impossible franchise, the actor didn’t fail to deliver a brilliant performance in the comedic role.

Although the movie has garnered its fair share of controversies over the years, it’s impossible to go through the entire movie without bursting into laughter on several occasions. And one such occasion arrives during its ending and it appears that it was the idea of Cruise himself.

Tom Cruise as Les Grossman

Tom Cruise reportedly demanded to dance in Tropic Thunder

Although the 2008’s classic is full of memorable moments that don’t fail to make fans burst into laughter, however, Tom Cruise’s Les Grossman was easily the highlight of the movie. Apart from Cruise’s performance, other factors that resulted in making the character so memorable were Cruise’s makeup and one strange demand from Cruise.

Producer Stuart Cornfeld revealed that the Mission: Impossible star was the one to come up with the idea of the iconic dance at the end of the movie, which was the cherry on top of this extremely funny film. Cornfeld said,
“We’re doing the makeup test and it’s the first time Tom’s in the Les Grossman outfit. He stops and says, ‘Maybe I should dance in this. You know, I haven’t danced in a movie in a long time,’” 
The actor also reportedly choreographed all of his moves that left all of his crew in giggles. As a result, Cruise’s performance in addition to one of the most memorable casts, including RDJ, ensured that the movie was a big success. The movie also pushed RDJ’s career to the top after starring in Iron Man earlier that year.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Tom Cruise was initially supposed to play the role of Tugg Speedman in Tropic Thunder

Despite Tom Cruise’s brilliant performance as Les Grossman, it was revealed that the actor was initially considered for the lead role, which was later played by Ben Stiller. However, the idea of Less Grossman was a result of Cruise’s advice, as he reportedly asked for the involvement of another villain after reading the script and expressed the idea of a greedy studio executive.

Although it would take almost another year to officially create the character of Les Grossman and after a series of events, Cruise would finally land the iconic role. Stuart Cornfeld expressed the situation by stating,
“Ben decided he was going to play Speedman, and then he got a phone call from Tom, who said he just couldn’t get the script out of his mind. Tom asked, ‘What else is open?’ And Ben said, ‘Well, we haven’t cast the Les Grossman role yet.’ Tom was like, ‘I’d play that”

Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder
Apart from Tom Cruise’s brilliance, the movie was also able to assemble one gigantic cast, involving Ben Stiller, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, etc. And none of them misses the opportunity to leave their mark on the movie.

Tropic Thunder is available to stream on HBO Max.

Source: Grantland