tom cruise ben stiller mission impossible parody

The Best Thing Mission: Impossible 2 Gave Us Was Ben Stiller As Tom Cruise's Stunt Double

A champion of the theatrical experience and one of the most daring stunt performers of all time,  Tom Cruise is a movie star from another stratosphere. Before some of his sillier roles in films like "Tropic Thunder" and "Rock of Ages," Cruise was mainly known for his intense drama and action movies. He rarely poked fun at himself or his reputation. That's why his "Mission Impossible 2" sketch with Ben Stiller from the 2003 MTV Movie Awards is such a gem.

In "Mission: Improbable," Ben Stiller plays Tom Crooze, a devoted but dim-witted stuntman who follows Tom Cruise around like a lost puppy. He believes they are BFFs and tries to emulate him in every single way — from his floppy hair, sleek sunglasses, and aggressive nodding. The juxtaposition between Crooze's obsessive dedication and Tom Cruise's apathetic acceptance of him is what makes this short so hilarious. Crooze takes his job super seriously, wanting to "become one with Tom" by overanalyzing every move he makes or anticipating everything he's going to say. Crooze never lets himself contradict Cruise, often changing what he says to agree with him. 

We also learn that Crooze was even Tom Cruise's stunt double for non-action scenes, like the sales pitch in "Magnolia," the famous "Risky Business" dance, or mixing the drinks in "Cocktail." It's funny because it's so ridiculous; Cruise is famous for doing his own stunts and they get riskier as the years go on. In the upcoming "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One,"  he literally drives his bike off a cliff . The parody culminates in the best way when Stiller perfectly matches Cruise's trademark laugh — boisterous and energetic, maybe a bit too much — and finishes his sentences. Ben Stiller's overall impression of Tom Cruise is eerily on point. 

The blueprint for Tropic Thunder

According to MTV Movie Awards producer Joel Gallen , this entertaining sketch almost never happened due to scheduling conflicts. Ben Stiller was on his honeymoon with Christine Taylor during the only time Tom Cruise was available. However, Cruise refused to do the short film with anyone else. After a pleading email from Joel Gallen, Ben Stiller agreed to cut his honeymoon short, boarded a 15-hour flight, and returned to shoot what would become one of the funniest MTV Movie Award skits ever. 

Looking back at it now, "Mission: Improbable" feels like the blueprint for  Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire "Tropic Thunder,"  released five years later. Both mock self-important performers who take their craft too seriously. Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a dumbed-down, Tom Cruise-esque action star looking for a comeback as a serious actor in his own version of "Born on the Fourth of July," a Vietnam War drama based on a bestselling memoir. As Speedman, Stiller brings the same over-the-top cluelessness and macho posturing as he did playing Tom Crooze.  

The real Tom Cruise was actually up for the role of Tugg Speedman. While it would have been really interesting to see Tom Cruise parody himself, his unexpected turn as Les Grossman is even better. Cruise completely transforms himself into a sleazy, bald Hollywood producer who dances to Flo Rida's "Low" and is willing to let Speedman die for a huge insurance payout. We rarely, if ever, see Cruise in such a repulsive role. According to an oral history of the character , Tom Cruise came up with Grossman himself. "Mission: Improbable" laid the groundwork for Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller as a dynamic comedy duo.

• Tickets & Showtimes
• Trending on RT

Ten Years On, Tropic Thunder 's Still a Brutal Kick In Hollywood's A--

Five reasons ben stiller's controversial, career-reviving satire still sticks in the memory and in the industry's craw..

(Photo by © DreamWorks)

In 2008, Tropic Thunder hit screens like a dynamo, shocking audiences with its stunt casting and blunt satire and racking up $110.5 million in domestic box office receipts. Ten years on, it still stands out as an audacious and controversial piece of American comedy – and we’re digging into why.

Written, directed, and produced by Ben Stiller, the movie sits Certified Fresh at 82% on the Tomatometer and earned  Robert Downey Jr. a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Kirk Lazarus, a white Australian method actor portraying a black character, Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris, in a fake movie. It was also blessed by  Tom Cruise ’s brilliant cameo as ostentatious douchebag Hollywood agent, Les Grossman.

Performances are one thing, substance is another. Tropic Thunder might have been just another big studio comedy when it landed in theaters on August 13, 2008, but it had weight to it and stuck in our memories in a way that few comedies-of-the-week do. Here are some of the reasons it cut through, and holds up.

1. It Surpassed Some Of Its Most Notable Influences

Chances are, you’ve seen 1999’s Galaxy Quest , a Star Trek parody so funny, rich, and solid that some Trekkies even hold it among the canonical Star Trek movies. (Critics liked it too – it sits at 90% on the Tomatometer.) The film told the story of a band of down-and-out actors from a  Star Trek -like   series who are forced to play their TV roles when they’re kidnapped by a beleaguered alien race that thinks their TV reruns are real-life documentaries. Chances are, too, that you’ve herd of  Three Amigos! , released 13 years earlier, which also saw a band of actors mistaken for their onscreen characters, this time South of the Border. The two films’ influence on Thunder – in which, yet again, the story of actors mistaken for their characters is used to skewer aspects of the movie-making business – is such that some online writers have dubbed them an unofficial trilogy. The trilogy’s finale, though, takes its satire to the darkest place: the very heart of the dream factory.

If Galaxy Quest captured Star Trek and its surrounding culture in a nutshell, Tropic Thunder captured Hollywood itself. Stiller’s script held a funhouse mirror to his contemporary actors, portraying its entitled prima donna actor characters with zero self-awareness about themselves, their peers, or their impact on audiences. More, Stiller held that same mirror to the Hollywood industrial complex, with the characters’ agents being varying degrees of oblivious, short-tempered, and manipulative. Despite all this, nearly every character in Tropic Thunder learns to get over themselves in a Sullivan’s Travels sort of way (yep, it even had a very Hollywood ending). While Galaxy Quest posits that even disposable entertainment has intrinsic value, Tropic Thunder argues that most folks in Hollywood, while often misguided, ultimately have the best intentions at heart.

Well, everyone but Les Grossman.

2. It Gave Tom Cruise a Much-Needed Post-Couch Big Win

The mid-2000s were rough for Tom Cruise’s image. Mission: Impossible III   didn’t exactly light up the box office, Lions for Lambs bombed outright, and then there was the Oprah couch incident. It seemed like the impossible had happened: Cruise’s star was fading. That was until his explosive performance as Hollywood agent Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder . Rumored to be based on Harvey Weinstein, Grossman was a hilarious, over-the-top deconstruction of the stereotypical Hollywood executive: brash, profane, arrogant, egotistical, manipulative, greedy, and grandiose. He might be a bit much to swallow – and a bit harder to watch, given what we know about the man who some say inspired him – but his meme-able dance moves go down smooth.

3. IT WAS PART OF THE “YEAR OF ROBERT DOWNEY JR.”

Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Kirk Lazarus, who plays the black Sergeant Lincoln Osiris in the movie-within-the-movie, is one of Tropic Thunder’s most memorable — and infamous — elements. Already riding a big career uptick following 2005’s Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang   and 2007’s Zodiac , Downey Jr. had a truly banner year in 2008 with the releases of  Iron Man and Tropic Thunder . The actor proved he could lead a blockbuster with the MCU’s first entry, but Tropic Thunder  reminded people that he also had range to spare. It was an uproarious and uncomfortable satire of Hollywood whitewashing and the industry’s often problematic casting decisions – and let’s face it, one that is still relevant today.

4. IT HELPED KICK OFF THE MCCONAISSANCE

Make no mistake, we were riding the Matthew McConaughey train well before  Tropic Thunder – he was a rom-com king in  Failure to Launch ,  How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days , and Fool’s Gold , and he gave us a decent villain in the apocalyptic Reign of Fire . But he was rarely given serious consideration for roles that were, shall we say, more challenging. He changed that perception in Tropic Thunder  playing Rick Peck, a comically oblivious agent who was absolutely hellbent on getting his client a TiVo. From there, McConaughey enjoyed a string of successes including Mud , Magic Mike , and Dallas Buyers Club , and notably on TV’s True Detective .  Prior to  Tropic Thunder , he starred or appeared in just five Certified Fresh movies across a span of 15 years; in the 10 years since the movie’s release, he’s been in nine.

5. IT WAS WOKE AS HELL, ESPECIALLY FOR THE TIME

Another infamous element of  Tropic Thunder ? Ben Stiller’s action star Tugg Speedman formerly played the titular character in  Simple Jack , an in-universe critical-and-financial failure centered on a young man with learning disabilities. As with the Tropic Thunder ‘s treatment of blackface, the concept of Simple Jack held Hollywood’s feet to the fire, skewering the way able-bodied actors have portrayed people with disabilities to earn those awards-season accolades. Tropic Thunder also featured Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino, a hyper-masculine – but closeted – rapper-turned-actor. When he accidentally comes out to his co-stars, he is met only with encouragement. We also got to see Chino with his boyfriend at the end of the film in a heartwarming moment.

The 2000s saw their share of important comedies, with Superbad , The 40 Year Old Virgin , and Knocked Up digging into a number of issues on the tip of people’s tongues, but Tropic Thunder  cracked the egg of Hollywood itself. For that – and for its rollicking deconstructions of entitlement, race, fame, the creative process, and self-actualization – it won’t soon be forgotten.

Tropic Thunder was released in theaters August 13, 2008

Related News

Tom Cruise Movies Ranked

All Robert Downey Jr. Movies Ranked

150 Essential Comedy Movies To Watch Now

8 Things To Know About The New Season Of Doctor Who

TV Premiere Dates 2024

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

Movie & TV News

Featured on rt.

May 9, 2024

Owen Teague and Wes Ball Break Down a Scene From Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

The 100 Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video (May 2024)

Top Headlines

• The 100 Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video (May 2024) –
• Planet of the Apes In Order: How to Watch the Movies Chronologically –
• Planet of the Apes Movies Ranked by Tomatometer –
• Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked – New Scary Movies to Watch –
• All Jack Black Movies Ranked –
• All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer –

• Celebrities
• Science & Tech
• Fashion & Beauty
• Food & Drink
• Home & Garden
• Sports & Fitness
• Travel & Outdoors
• Science & tech
• Conversations

Ben Stiller's incredible impression of Tom Cruise has just gone viral 22 years on

An old clip has resurfaced of Ben Stiller doing an impression of Tom Cruise and it's truly the most joyful thing you'll see today.

Stiller parodied Cruise in Mission Impossible while at the MTV Movie Awards in 2000 and the Top Gun actor was genuinely caught off-guard.

The pair sat down for an interview as Stiller, who was dressed in a matching outfit, joked they'd worked together so long they could 'finish each other's sentences', before mimicking Cruise's every move.

Outstanding.

Click here to sign up for our newsletters.

Matt Smith still in physio for House of the Dragon injury

Sign language interpreter performs 'fix you' at coldplay concert, jessie ware shares how slow-mo effects are created in music videos, elton john surprises diners with teaser of britney collaboration, rick astley recreates iconic 'never gonna give you up' music video, anne heche said who should play her in biopic just months before death, machine gun kelly gets fined almost $300,000 for over-running concert, johnny depp set to direct his first film in 25 years, these actors played best friends but 'hated' each other in real life, ben stiller says he accidentally became 'a total swiftie', new james bond ‘has to be aged under 40 and taller than 5ft 10ins', moment kit harington found out the ending of game of thrones, fans remember olivia newton-john and john travolta's best moments, ozzy osbourne shouts 'birmingham forever' at the commonwealth games, iconic grease makeover moment shows olivia newton-john at her best, brad pitt has list of stars he won't work with, lizzie cundy compares rebekah vardy interview to prince andrew's, jamie campbell bower performs lizzo song as stranger things' vecna, rebekah vardy 'deeply ashamed' of peter andre 'chipolata' comment, "starbucks hunting" on house of the dragon after game of thrones error, awkward moment laura ingraham has to fact check trump during interview, ryan gosling's critics choice win has become an instant meme, viral property sales music video has people rushing to 'put in offers', utah woman discovers she 'married her cousin' while pregnant, prankster changes labels in sainsbury's to hilarious descriptions, cat learns how to use ring video doorbell to get let in by his owner, onlyfans star elle brooke says she once sold her spit for £200, someone turned their tesla horn into topher from tiktok, woman throws gender reveal party - forgetting partner is colourblind, 'boy' and 'girl' wrestle for chance to be born in gender reveal, magpie found in garden absolutely 'hammered' off fermented apples, twitch streamer captures the live moment he gets hit by car, tiktoker who predicted 2022's events reveals what's in store for 2023, 'doggy daycare bus' is going viral on tiktok for the right reasons, mr t threatening racist landlords on tv is gold, woman catches neighbour's dog spying through perfectly-shaped hole, tiktoker reveals major signs that give away if someone is gen-z, thirsty cow turns on water tap after 'teaching itself' watching humans, golden retriever swims across lake to ask for food at restaurant, bulldog puppy fights to keep himself from falling asleep, youtuber reveals how marcus rashford crashed his £700k rolls royce, jimmy kimmel points out trump supporters hypocrisy, remarkable moment alexei navalny discovers how he was poisoned, marjorie taylor greene slammed by democrats after wild vaccine claims, hillary clinton nails tucker carlson over putin interview, shocking moment senator asks tiktok ceo if he's a communist, trump tells sick people: "if you vote then pass away, it's worth it", basketball player claims he is '10ft alien' spotted hiking in brazil, taylor swift fans are being 'scammed' by deepfake le creuset ad, julia hartley-brewer yells at palestinian mp during interview, pub owner enjoys pint in waist-high flood water following storm henk, news reporter makes savage remark about teen who beat tetris, radio listener's nsfw comment about storm henk read out live on air, news presenter accidentally asks viewers 'how big' their 'hole' is, defendant launches himself at judge during sentencing in court, ultimate world cruise floods three weeks into nine month voyage, fox news psychic predicts a 'sense of loss' for trump in 2024, japanese streamer reveals how she escaped 7.6-magnitude earthquake, twitch streamer captures moment earthquake strikes japan, guest's cat gets own introduction during live news interview, trump confuses biden and obama again as crowd goes silent, 80-year-old voter rips apart 'a**hole' donald trump in viral rant, trump asks crowd if it 'wants the black president or white president', trump says 'israel' is the capital of israel in another alarming speech, people think marjorie taylor greene auditioned for american idol, black people will vote for trump 'because they love sneakers', says fox guest, fox commentator claims trump's cognitive concerns are just typos, tory minister slammed as 'deluded' over sunak praise, senator says 'i love you' to trump in cringe on stage moment, trump utter's incoherent sentence about us not solving 'sollest smallest problem', ron desantis's quote about 'kissing trump's ring' has aged terribly, thérèse coffey tried to slam labour over rwanda – but it backfired, trump speaks about kane and the undertaker on his campaign trail, house of commons speaker refers to keir starmer as 'prime minister', red bull's tom bridge joined surfers to ride huge severn bore tidal wave, f1 insider says one star would win 'hands down' if they all raced in the same cars, host gives scathing speech on 'sad’ men complaining about taylor swift, frank lampard addresses legendary meme in best way possible, eric dier's accent after his first game for bayern munich raises eyebrows, stone cold steve austin has found something colder than he is, ishowspeed breaks streaming set up trying to replicate man utd goal, ronaldo left speechless by ishowspeed interview question, luke littler reveals what he's spending his £200,000 darts winnings on, luke littler celebrated the darts final in the most luke littler way, video perfectly sums up how it feels watching luke littler play darts, beautiful moment young manchester united fan given gift by garnacho, harry redknapp stars in bizarre government ad promoting 'deadline day', arsenal's william saliba mistakenly thought sean dyche played for the gunners, logan paul admits that he almost killed rey mysterio during wwe match, aaron ramsdale fans claim goalkeeper was ousted because of this clip, reporter tries to get dirt out of raheem sterling's eye mid-interview, jurgen klopp fumes as press conference held next to abusive fans, korean streamer rages after manchester united concedes to copenhagen, beyoncé quizzed on foot and mouth disease outbreak in resurfaced clip, jenna ortega and martin freeman scene in miller's girl branded 'gross', grammys viewers notice 'sweet moment' during tracy chapman's performance, paramount's star studded commercial has already won the super bowl, conor mcgregor beats up jake gyllenhaal in first look at road house remake, christina applegate breaks down as emmys give her standing ovation, this emmys tribute to matthew perry is simply heartbreaking, emmys 2024 viewers spot terrifying 'green goblin' lurking on stage, prime video is being branded 'sick' for its new saltburn merch, amy winehouse fans get first trailer for controversial biopic, jodie comer 'ordered to stop soothing babies' while filming new movie, taylor swift was not happy at a joke about her at the golden globes, every time golden globes host jo koy's jokes completely flopped, the mickey mouse horror film trailer is all kinds of wrong, green day change 'american idiot' lyrics to take aim at trump, nigel farage's attack on itv's boss is pure alan partridge, jason momoa under fire for 'rude' behaviour during interview, 'here comes honey boo boo' star's death announced following cancer, nigel farage addresses huge i'm a celeb pay check, one member of royal family received huge boos at diana: the musical.

• Rankings FA
• TV Premiere Calendar
• Coming in 2024
• Latest Reviews
• Cannes 2024 New

Mission: Improbable (TV) (S)

• Credits 
• Trailers  [1]
• Image gallery  [3]

All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders and/or producers/distributors.

All copyrighted material (movie posters, DVD covers, stills, trailers) and trademarks belong to their respective producers and/or distributors.

User history

• by Antonio Stallings
• Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Similar News

• by [email protected] (Dean Black)
• STartefacts.com

• by Christian Zilko

• by Visarg Acharya

Ben Stiller

• by Eric Lavallée
• IONCINEMA.com

• by Christopher Marc
• The Playlist

• by Melanie Goodfellow
• Deadline Film + TV

• by Nishanth A

• by David Satin
• The Streamable

More to explore

• by Borys Kit
• The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News

• by Christy Piña

• by Etan Vlessing

• by Jennifer Maas
• Variety - Film News

• by Daniel Kreps
• Rollingstone.com

Celebrity News

• by Chris Gardner

• by Nick Riccardo
• LateNighter

• by Zack Sharf

• by Angelique Jackson
• Variety Film + TV

• by Matt Grobar

• by Andreas Wiseman

• by Addie Morfoot

• by Alex Ritman

• by Valerie Complex

• by Aaron Couch

• by Lily Ford

• by Joe Otterson

• Variety - TV News

• by Denise Petski

• by Jem Aswad

Recently viewed

Screen Rant

Why ben stiller wanted to cut tom cruise's tropic thunder dance.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Star Wars’ New Jedi Movie Will Finally Answer My Biggest Lightsaber Question

"against everything i felt in my being": why orlando bloom regrets making historical epic with brad pitt, melissa mccarthy's new netflix movie replaces a missing scene from her 13-year-old comedy that made $306 million.

Tom Cruise's Tropic Thunder dance is one of the most famous scenes from the movie, but director Ben Stiller had to be talked into filming it. Tropic Thunder is a 2008 all-star action-comedy, where a group of pampered movie stars making a Vietnam war movie run afoul of a drug cartel in the Golden Triangle. The movie received mostly good reviews and was a solid hit, but while it can be genuinely hilarious in its parody of Hollywood moviemaking, it attracted controversy for elements like Robert Downey Jr's character - an intense method actor - donning blackface to play a role.

Tropic Thunder  cast Tom Cruise in a surprise cameo as Les Grossman, the monstrous producer behind the movie the actors are filming. Cruise was going through something of a slow period in his career prior to Tropic Thunder , with 2006's Mission: Impossible III proving to be the lowest-grossing of the series while award baiting drama Lions For Lambs also underperformed. While Grossman is ultimately a small role, Cruise's sheer commitment to the role and endless stream of quotable dialogue made him a highlight.

Related: Edge of Tomorrow Is Tom Cruise's Best Chance At Another Mission: Impossible

Tom Cruise donned lots of prosthetics to portray Len, including a fat suit and a bald cap. Some viewers didn't even realize it was Cruise in the role until Tropic Thunder's credits, which also featured arguably the movie's comic highlight. This sees Grossman, bathing in the awards success of the movie he produced, pulling off some wicked dance moves in his office set to Ludacris’s “Get Back.” In 2019 Cruise reflected on the movie during an interview with Conan O'Brien, and revealed Ben Stiller was VERY hesitant about the dance and most of the actor's ideas for the part.

When Stiller first offered Cruise Les Grossman, it was the latter's suggestion for the character to dance and have " fat hands ." The director didn't quite gel with these ideas and asked if Cruise could just play the role looking like himself with zero dancing. Cruise followed his instincts for Tropic Thunder and decided to do a make-up test for Stiller, which included doing some dance moves. Stiller was still doubtful as he watched Cruise perform without any backing music, but afterward when took footage from this test and cut it to "Get Back," he realized he had gold.

The positive reaction to Cruise's role in Tropic Thunder almost led to the creation of a Les Grossman spinoff, but while a script was developed it yet to happen. It's strange that one of the most iconic moments in the comedy hit almost didn't happen, but it's a testament to Tom Cruise's commitment to a bit that it's still so fondly remembered.

Next: Tropic Thunder: Why RDJ's Blackface Wasn't Controversial

• SR Originals
• Tropic Thunder (2008)