If they would have cast the tiny (5’7”?) Cruise as the gigantic Jack Reacher but cast all the other parts with very short actors (except the actors who played in scenes without Cruise in them, like the shooting victims, and the assassin, and maybe the actors who were seated or shot in closeup, or who could be filmed in shots where they didn’t share the screen), I think it would have been hilarious, and added to Cruise’s resume.
Of course they would have had to construct a number of sets that were way smaller than usual, but so what? They have to build some sets from scratch for every film anyway—what difference if this movie’s sets had doors that were only five and a half feet high so Cruise had to duck every time he entered or left through a doorway.
I would have enjoyed seeing such a spectacle and marveling over the technical problems the film overcame just to make Cruise look like a giant.
Apart from casting short actors, or shooting around the tall ones, and building a few tiny sets, is there a problem here I’m not thinking of? Would Cruise’s ego be bruised, or do you think he would have enjoyed it?
You go with Cruise’s actual size thusly:
Cruise as Reacher, Jr.
A petite, tough actress like Jeannette Goldstein (Vasquez Aliens) as Mom Reacher.
Elder Reacher is dead (final heroic act) Appears in photos and flashbacks, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren.
OK, but how would Cruise have responded to his small stature being highlighted like this? I think the spectacle would have increased box office considerably. I certainly would have bought a ticket to see Cruise playing a giant–the idea of searching out the various gimmicks used to create that effect alone would have gotten me into a theater.
It’s too bad Jason Momoa wasn’t famous when they were casting Reacher. He’s one of the few actors with the height and width for the character. Jack Reacher is supposed to be a bit scary and intimidating. Cruise is a decent actor, but he’s no Khal Drogo.
I may not be as big as Jack, but I have been asked to reach something on a high shelves in stores. Tom would be tiny standing next to me.
I think ti would have been interesting to cast it thusly. It might make it more of a “joke”, though, and you really don’t want that. But it would be fun. But making Reacher short goes against the defining characteristic of the character. He doesn’t have to fight all the time, because he’s scary big. You want a short action here? Call him Ethan Hunt and move on. Worked great!
Despite how shot Tom might be in real life, I think he’s a great lead.
Funnily enough, I always pictured Reacher as a bit of a grizzled Lundgren when I used to read the novels. He’d have been perfect, physically, for the role if the films (or TV series) had run at the same time (or rather, just after) that the books had been published. Perhaps not quite got the acting chops, although it’s not exactly Shakespeare.
It seems to me that if they can make normal sized actors look like hobbits for LOTR, then they should be able to make a hobbit sized actor look huge for Reacher.
As a 5’7” fellow myself, I find the ‘tiny’ description a bit off. Even in the US, the average male height is apparently only about 5’ 9”. Though I must admit that when I was working in the Netherlands years ago, they all seemed to tower above me…
Tom would be tiny standing next to me.
) featured Alan Richardson - a jolly suitable actor.