“There was just nothing to do”: Brad Pitt Felt He Was Cheated in Vampire Movie That Focused Only on Tom Cruise for Being a Bigger Star
Ego clashes, creative differences, and unfulfilled expectations are not uncommon in the glamorous world of Hollywood. The ultimate heartthrob of the entertainment world, Brad Pitt once candidly discussed his experience working with the most popular movie star in the world, Tom Cruise, in the 1994 vampire film, Interview with The Vampire. And it was not pleasant.
Things had gotten so bad that Pitt was more than willing to walk out of the movie. It is a good thing he didn’t.
Brad Pitt Felt Cheated While Working with Tom Cruise
Collaboration between A-listers has always been an enthralling concept. Fans are overjoyed to see two leading faces of the industry in the same frame, chances of the project they’re starring in doing exceptionally well at the box office increase, and they’re more often than not critically acclaimed.
But the struggles, frustrations, and disappointment that goes on behind the scenes for these collaborations rarely reach the public. Two greats seldom agree after all.
The instance of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise joining forces for Neil Jordan’s 1994 gothic drama Interview with The Vampire. By 1994, Cruise had already made a name for himself in the entertainment world while Pitt had only recently started out. He was an up-and-coming youngster, who had the world as his oyster.
An opportunity to star in a film adaptation of Anne Rice’s popular novel alongside the Mission: Impossible star seemed very favorable to Pitt. Cruise was riding off his wave as the reigning king of Hollywood from the 80s, while Pitt’s breakthrough came in the early 90s. Pitt really felt the difference and perceived his treatment as someone less than Cruise.
Brad Pitt Nearly Walked Out of Interview with the Vampire
Set to play Louis de Pointe du Lac in Interview with The Vampire, Pitt read the script merely weeks prior to the production and he was surprised at the toned-down version of his character.
“In the book, you have this guy asking, ‘Who am I?’ Which was probably applicable to me at that time: ‘Am I good? Am I of the angels? Am I bad? Am I of the devil?’ In the book, it is a guy going on this search of discovery. And in the meantime, he has this Lestat character that he’s entranced by and abhors… In the movie, they took the sensational aspects of Lestat and made that the pulse of the film, and those things are very enjoyable and very good, but for me, there was just nothing to do – you just sit and watch.”
Not being on the best of terms with Cruise and getting a role that was far from what he imagined did not sit well with Pitt and he wanted to storm out. Expressing the frustrations he felt at the time, Pitt said (via Ranker):
“I am miserable. Six months in the f*cking dark. Contact lenses, makeup, I’m playing the b*tch role…One day, it broke me… I called David Geffen, who was a producer… I said, ‘David, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do it. How much will it take to get me out?’ And he goes, very calmly, ‘Forty million dollars.’ And I go, ‘Okay, thank you.’ It actually took the anxiety off of me. I was like, ‘I’ve got to man up and ride this through, and that’s what I’m going to do.'”
It’s a good thing Pitt stayed. Hard to imagine someone else playing the iconic role.
Interview with the Vampire is available on Paramount+.
