Mickey Rourke has ‘no respect’ for Tom Cruise amid ‘Top Gun’ success: ‘I don’t care’
Mickey Rourke is not impressed by fellow actor Tom Cruise’s recent box-office triumphs — to put it lightly.
Appearing Monday on Talk TV’s “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Rourke did not mince words while bashing Cruise, whose career has soared to new heights this summer thanks to the blockbuster release of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
In late May, the patriotic action flick opened to a whopping $156 million at the domestic box office, shattering the longstanding Memorial Day weekend record and marking Cruise’s biggest domestic launch ever.
‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ starring Tom Cruise, smashed the domestic box-office record for Memorial Day weekend set by 2007’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ installment.
A week later, the high-flying sequel became Cruise’s highest-grossing domestic release of all time — more than three decades after the original “Top Gun” hit theaters. As of Sunday, the Paramount Pictures title had amassed $1.2 billion worldwide.
“That doesn’t mean s— to me,” Rourke told Morgan. “The guy has been doing the same effing part for 35 years. I got no respect for that.
“I don’t care about money and power. I care about when I watch Al Pacino work and [Christopher] Walken and [Robert] De Niro’s early work and Richard Harris’ work and Ray Winstone’s work. ... That’s the kind of actor I want to be like. ... guys that just tried to stretch as actors.”
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ sustained a modest drop in ticket sales at the domestic box office this weekend after breaking the Memorial Day record.
Asked by Morgan if he considers Cruise a “good actor,” Rourke deemed the action star “irrelevant in my world.” A representative for Cruise did not immediately respond Tuesday to The Times’ request for comment.
In addition to making a killing at the box office, “Top Gun: Maverick” has wowed critics and moviegoers alike. Upon its debut, the film scored a 97% fresh rating on review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and an equally glowing A-plus from audiences polled by CinemaScore.
While speaking with The Times last month, “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski praised the performances of both Cruise and Val Kilmer, who reprised their famous roles as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Adm. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, respectively.
As ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ rules the summer box office, Val Kilmer opens up about its most talked-about scene.
“You’ve got two masters at the top of their game playing the most iconic characters of their careers,” Kosinski said.
“I think there is a lot of Maverick in Tom, and Iceman in Val, so what you are seeing onscreen is an authentic friendship that has lasted over 36 years. After one of the takes (we only did a few) I noticed that both Tom and Val had tears in their eyes. It felt like a genuine moment between two old friends.”
Last week, franchise newcomer Miles Teller revealed to Entertainment Tonight that he’s “been having some conversations with” Cruise about a potential third “Top Gun” movie.
“That would be great, but that’s all up to TC,” he said. “We’ll see.”
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
