Cameron Crowe, who directed Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire and Vanilla Sky, might have an idea about what the action star is up to in his career. After eight Mission: Impossible films, it could be possible that Cruise is putting a lid on his action roles. Crowe suggested that the Top Gun actor could pivot into more character-driven roles.
Cruise has worked with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Stanley Kubrick in the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s. However, in the last two decades, he shifted his focus more to action films, particularly the Mission: Impossible franchise. However, he made sure that he delivered the highest quality product in this genre.
Crowe suggested that he might dedicate as much energy and commitment to character-driven stories, delivering products of the highest quality. Crowe shared with The New York Times:
I see that there’s a time coming, and it might have already started, where he’s going to segue into character roles as strongly as he segued in to doing action movies of the highest quality. That Paul Newman character phase is just around the corner and will fry people’s minds.
After Cruise blew us away with his daring stunts, it’s time for the actor to take a different route to impress us. His upcoming project with Oscar-winning Alejandro González Iñárritu is proof enough that we are going to get our minds fried.
Tom Cruise’s Upcoming Project That Indicates a Pivot from Action Movies
Tom Cruise will reunite with Warner Bros. after 12 years in the untitled film, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The filmmaker teamed up with his Oscar-winning Birdman writers, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Nicolás Giacobone, for the script of the film. Cruise is co-producing the film with Iñárritu.
Iñárritu made his mark with Birdman in 2014. The film earned him Oscars for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He received his consecutive Best Director Oscar the next year for The Revenant. According to Deadline, Cruise sought out the director once he became aware that Iñárritu was ready to take on his next big studio film.
The filming began in the UK in November 2024 and wrapped up in May 2025. During an interview with Deadline, Iñárritu confirmed that the film would be a comedy. Here are the details of this new film:
While Cruise remains one of the top-earning stars in the industry, his Awards haven’t justified his box office performance. It almost reminds fans of Leonardo DiCaprio‘s continued losing streak at the Oscars, starting from the 1994 Academy Awards.
DiCaprio’s losing streak was ended by his collaboration with Iñárritu in the film The Revenant. Cruise has yet to win the top acting award, and fans expect Iñárritu to make this possible, like he did with the Titanic actor. Cruise earlier received nods for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia.
Clint Eastwood’s Take on Tom Cruise’s Career
Cameron Crowe also told The New York Times about what Clint Eastwood had to say about Tom Cruise. Crowe and Eastwood shared the same lawyer and met during one of the parties where they were both invited. Crowe, who had admired Eastwood his entire life, was at a loss for words when he met the legend.
However, Eastwood had one topic in mind that he loved to discuss with Crowe. The filmmaker shared, “So I’m sitting there and Clint Eastwood leans over and says, ‘Tom Cruise.’” Crowe immediately said to Eastwood, “Oh, man, Tom Cruise. I love working with Tom Cruise.” Eastwood responded with a powerful statement on Cruise’s career:
In a hundred years, they’re gonna look back — that’s the career, Tom Cruise’s career.
Those words, coming from a legendary actor and filmmaker, spoke volumes about the career that Cruise had. Interestingly, Cruise and Clint Eastwood have never collaborated on a project. Yet, Cruise’s performance was something that caught the Dirty Harry actor’s attention.
What do you think of Cameron Crowe’s statement on Cruise’s career pivot? Let us know in the comments below!