Steven Spielberg Wanted Tom Cruise As Zorro - But He Passed For A Good Reason
Long before Alan Ritchson proved Tom Cruise was the worst Jack Reacher, Cruise was considered to play another literary-turned-big screen hero. However, the "Mission: Impossible" franchise star ended up passing on the role.
In an interview with /Film for the 25th anniversary of the 1998 hit "The Mask of Zorro," cinematographer Mikael Salomon detailed how Cruise was being pursued by executive producer Steven Spielberg to play the Spanish-Mexican vigilante Don Alejandro de la Vega — aka Zorro — in the film. Salomon, who was hired to direct "The Legend of Zorro" at one point, recalled for /Film that Cruise was among the big names in the mix for the role early in the production process.
"He wanted to offer it to Tom Cruise," the Danish filmmaker told /Film. "And my friend and countryman Bille August had done 'The House of the Spirits' with all non-Latinos, and he got in so much hot water because of that, and they picketed the movie in South America. And I said to Steven, 'You know, that's probably not a good idea, just for that reason.'"
That wasn't the end of the story, however, as when Cruise found out he was being considered for the role, he personally reached out to Salomon to decline the part. As it turns out, Cruise also thought it wouldn't be a good fit for him to play the part.
Cruise called Salomon to thank him for the opportunity to play Zorro
Even though Steven Spielberg's idea to get Tom Cruise to star in "The Legend of Zorro" was a non-starter for Mikael Salomon, the filmmaker appreciated how the star was courteous enough to reach out to thank him for the opportunity. Salomon recounted his brief conversation with Cruise about the role, noting for /Film, "One day I was doing a commercial and my assistant said, 'Mikael, there's Tom Cruise on the phone for you.'"
The filmmaker said while he previously worked with Cruise as the director of photography on director Ron Howard's 1992 romantic adventure "Far and Away," he was taken aback by Cruise making the effort to get in touch with him. "He called me up and said, 'Thanks for the offer, but I think it's not a great idea for me to do this movie because, as you know...' I said, 'Tom, you're a very smart guy. Absolutely, you're absolutely right,'" Salomon told /Film. Ultimately, of course, the title role in "The Legend of Zorro" went to Antonio Banderas.
The character of Zorro first appeared in author Johnston McCulley's classic novella "The Curse of Capistrano (The Mark of Zorro)" in 1919. Times and cultural sensitivities had of course changed by the time Banderas took on the role. Douglas Fairbanks became the first actor to play Zorro in film in "The Mark of Zorro" in 1920, while Tyrone Power assumed the role in the 1940 version of McCulley's tale, also titled "The Mark of Zorro."
Cruise, meanwhile went on to become Hollywood's last great action star, with lead turns in such blockbusters as the "Mission: Impossible" films and the "Top Gun" sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick."