Rob Lowe Reveals ‘Dastardly Nemesis’ Who Snagged Huge Film Roles Over Him
Rob Lowe Reveals ‘Dastardly Nemesis’ Who Snagged Huge Film Roles Over Him
Michelle SteinSat, September 5, 2026 at 7:35 PM UTC
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Rob Lowe - Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Rob Lowe recently revealed that a “dastardly” A-list actor was his “nemesis” in the ’80s and ’90s.
In an interview with the New York Post published on September 5, Lowe, 62, opened up about losing out on two massive films, one in 1996 and another in 1986, to the same star. Hint: It was someone he co-starred with in the 1983 film The Outsiders.
“That dastardly Tom Cruise was always a nemesis,” he declared. “I remember reading Jerry Maguire … and they were like, ‘Tom Cruise.’ I also remember reading Top Gun and going, ‘Oh, this movie is going to be f***ing massive.’ They were like, ‘Tom Cruise.’”
Indeed, Cruise, 64, played Jerry Maguire in the film of the same name, as well as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the action-drama franchise. Jerry Maguire ultimately brought in $273.6 million worldwide at the box office, while Top Gun grossed roughly $360 million worldwide.
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For Top Gun, Matthew Modine was offered the role but turned it down. When asked if he regretted the decision, Modine told Salon in 2020. “Not for one second. Cruise said that he felt that Top Gun was a movie about individualism and personal strength. I just thought the movie was jingoistic.”
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Similarly, Tom Hanks was the first choice for Jerry Maguire, and Edward Burns was the second choice.
Lowe also set the record straight about a rumor that he was under consideration to star in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986); the role ultimately went to Matthew Broderick.
“John Hughes never got what I was selling,” Lowe claimed of the Ferris Bueller director. “I met with John once and it’s not like he didn’t have a lot of parts I could have done. When you really look at it, there were more than a few parts, multiple parts in some movies. Never. Phone never rang.”
Can you imagine Lowe starring in Jerry Maguire or Top Gun?
Top Gun, streaming on Paramount+; Jerry Maguire, streaming on Hulu and Disney+
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
