CR 2005 All Rights Reserved
In between Nicole and his fiancé Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise learned to act. I know in a previous article I said he played the same roles. But most actors do. Don't believe "Vanity Fair" when it quoted Lagerfield Nicole Kidman is the new Bacall. It's why we go back to see her movies, preferably on DVD according to the Associated Press ( June 16, 2005)
I made an error in that article which underestimated Mr. Cruise, most people have. Tom has been in the press a lot, they even discussed him on A.M.C.'s "Sunday Morning Shoot Out". Some have said he has lost it, others say its good PR. Lately, a British film crew tried to punk Tom and allegedly squirted him with a water bottle ( APA story June 20, 2005)
But one thing is certain, Tom has learned to act. It wasn't just the "Jerry McGuire" script that earned him a second Oscar nomination. The third Oscar nomination was for "Magnolia."
Along with that feeling about Tom, you may have noticed something similar about Laurence Fishburne. These two actors like those who have played Batman for the past twenty years have played similar roles the past twenty years. Yet, their acting skills differentiate the roles they have chosen. Like those who play Batman their is a little difference in each movie's reincarnation.
Larry and Tom fool the audience and often the writer to make their performances memorable and varied through the years.
Your assignment, this month in writing for the male actor is to contemplate actors with a track record like Tom, Larry and Batman. The history is challenging, but the assignment is similar to writing for the major actress. It has been said that actors read a script for character. They search for a character with a passion. But, I believe you as a writer, must mold the actor to accept what you have created even if it is difficult.
Tom Cruise has been around for along time. In 1983 I lived in Boston, MA, bored I convinced my flower major roommate to see "Risky Business" Rebecca De Mornay was hot, who was Tom Cruise. I had seen him in " Taps". In that movie he played the bad guy, he didn't appear bankable. Yet that has been his nickname, through the 1980's, the 90's and onward into the 21st century.
