Rob Lowe says that Tom Cruise denied him two roles he had wanted: Top Gun and Jerry Maguire. Lowe settled on the phrase "dastardly" to explain the rivalry. He made it clear there is no hard feelings between the pair.
Nicole Kidman, Cruise's former wife, has acknowledged she almost gave up acting because of him. Both of these remarks position him at the heart of major career turning points for people around him during the 1980s and 1990s.