Rob Lowe reveals Tom Cruise repeatedly beat him to major Hollywood roles, including Top Gun and Jerry Maguire, calling Cruise his “nemesis.”
Rob Lowe is looking back at one of Hollywood’s most memorable what-ifs — and he says Tom Cruise was repeatedly the actor standing between him and some major blockbuster roles.
The 62-year-old actor recently opened up about his competition with Cruise during an interview with the New York Post, jokingly describing his former The Outsiders co-star as his “dastardly” Hollywood nemesis.
Lowe specifically recalled pursuing roles in “Top Gun” and “Jerry Maguire,” two films that ultimately became major milestones in Cruise’s career.
Rob Lowe says Tom Cruise was his ‘nemesis’
Lowe did not describe his relationship with Cruise as a serious personal feud. Instead, his comments appeared to reflect the intense competition between two young actors who were rising through Hollywood at roughly the same time.
“That dastardly Tom Cruise was always a nemesis,” Lowe said, according to Fox News’ report on the interview.
The two actors had already worked together in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders” in 1983, alongside a remarkable cast of young performers.
Their careers soon took different paths, with Cruise becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars.
Lowe lost ‘Top Gun’ role to Cruise
One of Lowe’s most notable missed opportunities was “Top Gun.”
Lowe recalled reading the project and immediately recognizing its blockbuster potential.
He said he remembered thinking the movie was going to be “massive,” only to learn that Cruise was attached to the role.
Cruise ultimately played Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the 1986 film, a performance that helped turn him into an international superstar.
The movie became one of the defining blockbusters of the 1980s, while Cruise eventually reprised the character decades later in “Top Gun: Maverick.”
‘Jerry Maguire’ was another missed opportunity
Lowe experienced a similar situation years later with “Jerry Maguire.”
He recalled reading the script and once again encountering Cruise’s name.
Cruise went on to star as sports agent Jerry Maguire in the 1996 Cameron Crowe film, delivering one of his most recognizable dramatic performances.
The movie became another major success and earned Cruise an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
For Lowe, it became another example of a major role he had pursued but ultimately lost to his former co-star.
Rob Lowe clarifies ‘Ferris Bueller’ casting story
Lowe also addressed another long-running question about his career: whether he was ever seriously considered to play Ferris Bueller in John Hughes’ 1986 comedy.
According to Lowe, that story is largely inaccurate.
Matthew Broderick ultimately played the iconic character, but Lowe said Hughes was never particularly interested in casting him.
“I met with John once,” Lowe recalled, explaining that despite there being several roles in Hughes’ films that he believed he could have played, the director never called him back.
Lowe has his own theory about John Hughes
Lowe believes there may have been a simple reason Hughes did not cast him.
He theorized that he was already too well known at the time.
According to Lowe, Hughes often preferred working with younger actors who were not yet major stars and then helped turn them into household names.
Lowe acknowledged that this is his personal theory and joked that it may simply be the explanation he tells himself to make peace with missing out on Hughes’ movies.
The actor has previously recalled auditioning for a role in Hughes’ “The Breakfast Club,” although he did not ultimately become part of the film’s iconic ensemble.
Cruise and Lowe competed even before Hollywood fame
Their competitive history goes back to their time working on “The Outsiders.”
Lowe has previously described Cruise as highly competitive during the production, including an incident in which the young actors sparred while wearing protective equipment.
Lowe recalled landing a punch on Cruise before Cruise eventually knocked him down.
The story has since become part of the actors’ shared Hollywood history and adds another layer to Lowe’s recent joking reference to Cruise as his “nemesis.”
Despite the competition, there is no indication that Lowe’s comments reflect a serious personal feud between the two actors.
Rob Lowe built a lasting Hollywood career
Although Lowe missed out on several roles that became synonymous with Cruise, his own career remained remarkably successful.
He became one of the defining actors of the Brat Pack era, appearing in films including “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “The Outsiders,” “Oxford Blues” and “About Last Night.”
His career later expanded into television, with major roles in “The West Wing” and “Parks and Recreation.”
Lowe has also continued working in film and television decades after his breakout years.
His latest comments offer a reminder of just how competitive Hollywood’s casting process was during the 1980s and 1990s — and how different two actors’ careers can become when one lands a defining blockbuster role.
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