Fans believe that Tom Cruise’s role as an over-the-top aggressive studio executive in his 2008 film could be based on Harvey Weinstein.

Tom Cruise had no issues in going up against Harvey Weinstein way before the MeToo scandal brought down the Hollywood producer. Last year, fans heard from director Todd Field about how Cruise helped him to avoid Weinstein from hijacking his film. Interestingly, Cruise also took his chance to parody Weinstein in one of his roles.

Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in a still from Tropic Thunder | Credits: DreamWorks Pictures/Paramount Pictures

In Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, the Mission: Impossible actor played an over-the-top movie producer. Many speculated that the role was based on Weinstein while others also commented that the role carried resemblances to producer Scott Rudin. Fans believed that Cruise used the role to call out Weinstein’s aggressive behavior at a time when he was still all-powerful in the industry.

Tom Cruise parodied Harvey Weinstein and exposed his bullying behavior

Harvey Weinstein | Credits: Georges Biard, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At a time when Tom Cruise was struggling in his career, Ben Stiller offered him a role where he could step out of his comfort zone. Cruise was initially offered the role of Rick Peck in Tropic Thunder, a role that later went to Matthew McConaughey. However, he suggested that the film add a new character, that of an unhinged studio head.

Cruise helped Stiller in developing the ill-tempered studio executive, Les Grossman. The Top Gun actor contributed to the behavior, mannerisms, and costumes. When the film came out, fans and movie-buffs couldn’t help but notice some similarities in the character with real-world people.

Many noted that the character was loosely inspired by film producer Scott Rudin and the infamous Harvey Weinstein. Upon rewatching, fans felt that Cruise was actually going after the bullying behavior of producers like Weinstein, who was later convicted on s*xual assault charges.

In a Reddit discussion from earlier this year, one fan pointed out the obvious attack on Weinstein in the film. u/RyzenRaider shared that while Weinstein never commented on the role, people in the industry knew that it was about the infamous producer. The fan shared:

A Les Grossman spinoff was initially teased by Paramount, stating that they had “secured the life rights to Grossman” (via EW). Later, Deadline reported that Cruise and producer Christopher McQuarrie are very much interested in the character.

Tom Cruise helped save Todd Field’s film from Harvey Weinstein’s intervention

Tom Cruise in a still from The Last Samurai | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Todd Field’s directorial debut, In the Bedroom, was almost ruined when Harvey Weinstein suggested certain changes to it. Field found himself helpless and sought help from Tom Cruise. He had worked with Cruise on Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Field shared with The New Yorker that Cruise’s pivotal intervention helped him to retain his original vision. He shared:

I was weeping in the bathroom. I called up Tom Cruise and said, ‘Something terrible has happened.’ He basically said, ‘This is how you’re going to play it. It’s going to take you six months, and you’ll beat him, but you have to do exactly what I’m going to tell you to do, step by step.’

Cruise suggested Field let Weinstein take charge and make the changes he wanted. Cruise was sure that Weinstein’s recut wouldn’t possibly work and he was right, as the film failed to impress viewers at preview screenings. He then asked Field to remind Weinstein of the film’s success at the Sundance Festival and prompt him to revert back to the original vision.

Tropic Thunder is now available for streaming on Paramount Plus.