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Michael Cera had quite the unusual and memorable experience with Tom Cruise that he recently opened up about on a podcast with Louis Theroux. He talked about how he once got a little too chatty on a movie set and ended up getting a surprise reaction from Cruise, who wasn’t exactly thrilled. Cera explained that he had stopped by the set of Tropic Thunder back in 2010 to film a short skit with Cruise for the MTV Movie Awards. Cruise was dressed up as his wild character from Tropic Thunder, Les Grossman, and was in full acting mode, totally in character and focused.
While Cruise was in the middle of filming some intense takes, Cera was quietly talking to the writer nearby, not realizing just how seriously Cruise takes his work. Even though they were standing about 40 feet away, Cruise heard the mumbling and suddenly stopped to call out, “Is that Michael Cera talking during a f***ing take?” According to Cera, Cruise said it in a way that was kind of funny, but also serious enough to make it clear that he wasn’t playing around when it came to staying focused during filming. It caught Cera completely off guard—he hadn’t even officially met Cruise yet.
Later, when they did finally come face-to-face, Cruise teased him again, repeating the line about talking during a take. Cera tried to play along and jokingly blamed the writer, saying it wasn’t him. Cruise laughed and said he was just joking, and Cera played it off with, “Yeah, me too,” trying to keep things light. Even though it was all in good humor, the moment stuck with Cera because it felt like something totally surreal, like a strange dream where Tom Cruise is yelling at you.
Cera also mentioned that Cruise wasn’t just acting on set—he was also acting like the boss. He said Cruise basically ran the whole set, paying attention to every detail and taking on responsibilities that you’d normally expect from a director or assistant director. He was deeply involved in how things went down, which showed just how seriously Cruise takes every project he’s part of.
As for Cruise’s wild character Les Grossman, he was a huge hit in Tropic Thunder, which also starred Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller. Cruise’s performance was so over-the-top and different from his usual roles that it earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a whole lot of attention. More recently, the director of Mission Impossible, Christopher McQuarrie, said he and Cruise have been seriously talking about making a whole movie centered around Les Grossman. They think the idea has a lot of potential and have been brainstorming ways to bring the character back in a big way. Apparently, their conversations about it have been absolutely hilarious, and they’re trying to figure out how to make it work just right.