The history behind Brad Pitt’s reunion with Tom ...

Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise hadn’t been photographed collectively in additional than 20 years earlier than their shock reunion on the European premiere of the F1 movie. Nevertheless, this wasn’t the primary time that the pair’s lives and careers intersected with the world of motorsport.

The A-listers, who have been all smiles on the pink carpet in London on Monday, starred reverse one another within the 1994 horror flick Interview with the Vampire, which grew to become an on the spot cult basic. Cruise later revealed that their shared love of racing dates again to that set.

“We’d go and race go-karts all evening,” he mentioned at CinemaCon within the spring. “Brad’s received a brand new film with Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Kosinski. I can’t wait to see that this summer season… He’s excellent at driving. Imagine me, I’ve raced towards him.”

Although their paths by no means crossed once more professionally, the pair’s shared ardour for racing almost led to a second collaboration. Within the late 2010s, F1 director Joe Kosinski was growing a racing movie with each Pitt and Cruise set to star – and do their very own driving. However when the studio balked at Kosinski’s funds, the mission was scrapped, and James Mangold would go on to make Ford v Ferrari with Christian Bale and Matt Damon as a substitute.

Cruise, after all, discovered huge success with Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer on the 2022 smash Prime Gun: Maverick, whereas Pitt ultimately stepped into the driver’s seat for F1: The Movie. Nonetheless, the thought of a reunion lingered.

Pitt informed E! Information he’d be open to working with Cruise once more, with only one caveat: “I’m not gonna cling my ass off airplanes and shit like that,” he quipped earlier this month. “So, when he does one thing once more that’s on the bottom, [then yes].”

Cruise has been a recurring matter of dialog all through the F1 press tour, which might have made his look on the premiere curious, have been it not for the very fact he’s additionally selling his personal summer season blockbuster – Mission: Unattainable – The Closing Reckoning set a franchise opening weekend file in Could, pulling in $200 million globally.

Some have argued that Pitt’s character – a washed-up, “punk rock” former driver – appears tailored for the Days of Thunder star. Kosinski himself even spoke out about what the movie may need regarded like with Cruise within the lead.

“Tom at all times pushes it to the restrict, however on the identical time is tremendous succesful and really expert,” Kosinski informed GQ. “They each have the pure expertise for driving. However yeah, I may see Tom perhaps scaring us slightly bit extra.”

Graham Kelly, an action-vehicle supervisor on the movie, agreed with the director.

“We’d have had a crash,” he mentioned of Cruise. “Tom pushes it to the restrict. I imply actually to the restrict. That terrifies me. I imply, I’ve achieved a great deal of Mission: Impossibles with Tom and it’s essentially the most tense expertise for somebody like me constructing automobiles for him, doing stunts with him.

“Whereas Brad listens and he is aware of his skills, and I believe he’d be the primary to say, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to try this’.”

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt

Photograph by: Getty Photos

One other thread that ties the 2 collectively is seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who co-produced the F1 flick. The Ferrari driver has turn into shut with Pitt over the previous 4 years, complimenting his driving expertise and commending his work ethic.

The Brit has additionally been a fan of Cruise since he visited the Fringe of Tomorrow movie set in 2013, and reportedly “constructed a friendship” with him.

When the second Prime Gun movie was in improvement, Hamilton begged to get entangled, telling the 2025 honorary Oscar recipient that he’d be keen to play a cleaner within the background. Though he was ultimately supplied the function of a fighter pilot, he was compelled to show it down as a result of his 2021 championship combat with Max Verstappen.

Years later, he informed GQ that it “broke his coronary heart” to stroll away from the chance, however he ultimately received his second within the highlight with this 12 months’s summer season blockbuster.