"He’s ready to kill me!": Rob Lowe opens up about his intense rivalry with Tom Cruise during filming of The Outsiders

Rob Lowe talked about his intense rivalry with a young Tom Cruise, who was anxious to make his mark, as he reflected on his film debut in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders.

In a fascinating interview, Lowe recalled the strong rivalry and intense emotions that characterized his early days in Hollywood, particularly his dealings with none other than the famous Tom Cruise. According to The Things, Lowe spoke about accidentally hitting Cruise while rehearsing a fight sequence, leading to the latter's temper to flare:

“We all beat the living sh*t out of one another. We really did. I got one clean shot on Tom, and Tom is such a competitive lunatic – which is what I love about him – but the next thing you know he’s ready to kill me!” he said.

However, it can be said that as a result of their fierce competition, while filming The Outsiders, Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise not only gave their performances more energy but also paved the way for their illustrious careers.

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What else did Rob Lowe say about Tom Cruise?

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 The Outsiders is a coming-of-age film revolving around street gangs comprising young guys. As a result, Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise engaged in fights, and because of Coppola's insistence on method acting, heightened the already intense emotions on the sets of The Outsiders.

In an interview for iHeartPodcast Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi, Lowe also confirmed a notorious rumor about the Mission: Impossible actor removing a cap from his front tooth for his character in The Outsiders, which also features Patrick Swayze:

"Francis also thought that we should all be gymnasts, for some reason. So we all had to learn to do backflips. Tom took it so seriously. If you see The Outsiders, the movie is playing and the movie just stops dead and Tom does a backflip off of a car," he added.

Tom Cruise's part, Steve Randle, was not the main role, but Rob Lowe praised the actor's zeal, saying:

"[Tom was] ambitious, never met anybody more ambitious, and I am ambitious," Rob said. "There was a lot of one-upping going on…Tom's part of Steve Randle was not a huge part, but Tom being Tom, he was ambitious."

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Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe’s Off-Screen Rivalry

The rivalry between the two actors extended off-screen, too, as Lowe recalled that Tom Cruise initially refused to share a hotel room with him. In an interview with ET, Rob Lowe stated:

“First time I ever stayed at The Plaza Hotel. We check in and Tom finds out that we’re sharing a room, and just goes ballistic.”

In describing Cruise's character and career journey in the same interview, Lowe said that his unwavering dedication played a big role in his rise to become one of Hollywood's best-known performers, further stating:

“To me, what’s great about the story is, there’s certain people who have always been who they are, and that element of them has powered them to where they are today and the rest is history. And the notion that an 18-year-old actor with a walk-on part in Endless Love, and like, a seventh lead in Taps, could have that kind of, like, wherewithal? I remember going, ‘Wow, this guy is the real deal.’ I mean, it made me laugh, it was gnarly. But at the end, you can’t argue with the results, he’s had his eye on the ball since day one.”

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The fact The Outsiders is still hailed as a classic speaks much about the extraordinary talent that sprang from the fierce competition between Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise. They are an example of the magic that can occur when two outstanding performers come together in terms of their passion, ambition, and capacity to push each other to the utmost.

Viewers can watch The Outsiders on Max.