Tom Cruise Apparently Turned Down The Lead Role In The Mask Of Zorro
The film gods are a fickle bunch. If the flip of the coin had landed on a different outcome at various points in Hollywood history, the entire landscape of cinema as we know it could be completely changed. In fact, movie star Tom Cruise is something of a cottage industry to himself when it comes to major roles that he could've signed on for, but ended up little more than fascinating notes of trivia — in our universe, at least. There's the infamous "Iron Man" scenario that could've seen him suit up as Tony Stark instead of Robert Downey, Jr., of course, along with the near-miss of starring in the classic "Shawshank Redemption." But there's one other little-known factoid that completes this little trilogy of alternate-history Cruise projects: one where he could've been cast as the lead of "The Mask of Zorro," incredibly enough.
Martin Campbell's beloved '90s action film celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, with /Film marking the occasion by unveiling an entire oral history carefully curated by Ben Pearson. The film as we now know it has Campbell in the director's chair, flanked by his chemistry-laden leads Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. But having this trio of talent involved wasn't always the case. At one point in the film's lengthy development cycle (1993, to be exact), Danish cinematographer Mikael Salomon was courted and actually hired to direct "The Mask of Zorro." During that time, filmmaking legend Steven Spielberg was involved as producer and apparently reached out to one major movie star — none other than Tom freaking Cruise — for the lead role of Zorro.
Obviously, this didn't happen, as Cruise turned down the offer. But we can add this to the list of unbelievable what-ifs that could've potentially come to pass. Here's how.
Cruise as Zorro? Probably not a good idea
It should go without saying that what felt like a no-brainer in the early 1990s probably doesn't read quite the same way today ... if it ever even did at the time, that is. Looking back, "The Mask of Zorro" already has a major question mark with the casting of Catherine Zeta-Jones, a Welsh actor, as the Latino character of Eléna Montero. Now imagine compounding the problem by announcing Tom Cruise, of all people, as the unmistakably Mexican masked hero Alejandro Murrieta. This strange-but-true story was once a very real possibility, if not for Cruise exercising quite a bit of careful consideration, thankfully enough.
Mikael Salomon spoke to /Film's Ben Pearson and included this little nugget for the oral history, explaining how Steven Spielberg attempted to get his future "War of the Worlds" collaborator Cruise on board. Both Viggo Mortenson and Sean Connery were looked at for various roles. But even those big names can't compare to the likes of Cruise. According to Salomon:
"Who else was [in the mix]? Some big — oh yeah, Tom Cruise. Early on, [Spielberg] wanted to offer it to him. Have you heard that? He wanted to offer it to Tom Cruise. And my friend and countryman Bille August had done 'The House of the Spirits' with all non-Latinos, and he got in so much hot water because of that, and they picketed the movie in South America. And I said to Steven, 'You know, that's probably not a good idea, just for that reason.'"
Salomon's instincts would eventually be validated, but not until Spielberg went ahead with his offer and reached out directly to Cruise. The call that Salomon would soon receive is one he still remembers to this day.
A call from Cruise
Not just anyone in Hollywood can afford to either accept or decline significant roles with nothing more than a single phone call. Tom Cruise is not just anyone. Mikael Salomon goes on to recall what must've felt like an otherworldly experience when Cruise got in contact with him to discuss the role for "The Mask of Zorro." By all accounts, it was a very short conversation. As Salomon tells it:
"One day I was doing a commercial and my assistant said, 'Mikael, there's Tom Cruise on the phone for you.' 'Tom Cruise? Okay.' I had worked with him on 'Far and Away.' I was the [director of photography] on 'Far and Away.' So he called me up and said, 'Thanks for the offer, but I think it's not a great idea for me to do this movie because, as you know...' I said, 'Tom, you're a very smart guy. Absolutely, you're absolutely right.'"
How sensible! As much as casting Cruise is the go-to move to turn any hypothetical production into a reality (from a business perspective, at least), it turns out that Cruise was well aware of the optics of such a casting and wisely walked away. That paved the way for Antonio Banderas to get the call (though it's worth noting the Spanish actor isn't quite the right fit, either), but Salomon had another name in mind. "The guy I wanted [...] Andy Garcia was the one who, I was talking to him, we had great meetings, but then it all petered out."
The rest is history, as the dream team of director Robert Rodriguez and Banderas eventually gave way to Martin Campbell and Banderas. But, as Salomon's experience reminds us, film history isn't written in stone. Happy 25th, "The Mask of Zorro."