Rob Lowe Reveals His ’80s Dastardly Nemesis Tom Cruise Who Got the Roles He Auditioned For

Hollywood’s Brat Pack era was rife with friendly rivalries among its emerging stars, with several young actors vying for the same breakout roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Among them, Rob Lowe stands out for his enduring career, having gained early recognition in films like ‘The Outsiders’ and ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’, which solidified his status as one of the defining leading men of that time.

However, this early success came with its share of near-misses, as Lowe often found himself competing for roles that ultimately went to other rising stars of his generation. Given the fierce competition in casting during that era, it’s no surprise that one particular actor frequently crossed paths with Lowe at the most inconvenient times.

That actor is Tom Cruise, and Lowe has now shared just how often his former co-star ended up landing roles that he had his sights set on. In a conversation with the New York Post, Lowe referred to Cruise as his playful “dastardly” nemesis over the years, reminiscing about how the actor consistently outperformed him for two major blockbuster roles.

“That dastardly Tom Cruise was always a nemesis,” Lowe stated, according to the New York Post, elaborating on the specific films he had hoped to secure before Cruise ultimately snagged the parts.

Lowe specifically mentioned ‘Jerry Maguire’ and ‘Top Gun’ as the two films where Cruise consistently beat him to the punch. He recalled reading the script for ‘Jerry Maguire’ only to be informed that the role had already been assigned to Cruise, a scenario that mirrored his experience years earlier with ‘Top Gun’, where he recognized its blockbuster potential but was once again told Cruise had already been cast.

This rivalry is further enriched by the fact that Lowe and Cruise shared the screen decades earlier in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 coming-of-age classic ‘The Outsiders.’ The film also featured a remarkable ensemble cast, including Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, and Ralph Macchio, providing audiences with an early glimpse of several future A-list stars before their careers took different trajectories.

Despite missing out on those two significant roles, Lowe successfully built a substantial career, starring in films like ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’, ‘Youngblood’, and ‘About Last Night’ during the same period. Nevertheless, witnessing Cruise repeatedly capture two of the biggest commercial franchises of the following decades has clearly left a memorable mark on Lowe’s recollection of his career path.

In addition to discussing Cruise, Lowe took the opportunity to address a long-standing rumor regarding another iconic 1980s role. He clarified that reports suggesting he was once considered for the lead in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, a part that ultimately went to Matthew Broderick, were simply inaccurate.

Lowe explained that director John Hughes never seriously considered him for any of his classic teen films, offering his own theory as to why. He suggested that by the time Hughes was casting those projects, he may have already been too established as a star, with Hughes reportedly favoring the idea of building up lesser-known actors into new stars rather than casting familiar names.

This self-aware perspective allowed Lowe to humorously reconcile with missing out on one of the era’s most cherished comedies, even as he continued to reflect candidly on the series of near-misses that characterized parts of his early career. His comments come as he promotes his upcoming film ‘The Musical’, set for release on September 18.

Given the affection fans still hold for the ensemble casts that defined 1980s Hollywood, Lowe’s candid reflections serve as a delightful reminder of how many future stars were competing for a limited number of star-making roles during that time. Whether Cruise will ever respond to being playfully dubbed as Lowe’s decades-long nemesis remains to be seen.

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