A young Tom Cruise saw Dustin Hoffman at a restaurant and what he did next changed his life

Tom Cruise had made just six films when he spotted Dustin Hoffman, by then a renowned actor, at a restaurant in the 1980s. The films Cruise had become known for by that point, around 1984, had some brooding young man energy, among them Taps, The Outsiders, Risky Business, and All the Right Moves. Hoffman was by then already an Oscar-winning actor with some 25 years in showbusiness. Cruise had no plans on saying hello to him, but his little sister Cass had other ideas.

“‘My sister was like, 'There’s Dustin Hoffman, go up and say hello to him,’” Cruise told Sight and Sound Magazine, according to Entertainment Weekly. Cruise demurred initially, but his sister was having none of it, and said she would go up to Hoffman herself if Cruise wasn’t going to do it. So, he relented and visited Hoffman at his table. To his amazement, Hoffman knew his name, which Cruise was not at all expecting. They chatted, and as Cruise departed Hoffman’s table, the actor invited Cruise and his sister to a performance of Death of a Salesman—Hoffman was portraying the titular salesman Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s legendary play. Backstage, Hoffman told Cruise: “‘You and I are going to make a movie together one day.’” Cruise was delighted, but even with his short time in Hollywood he likely knew that so many projects fall through. But Hoffman’s prediction came true, and the script for Rain Main arrived in 1986.

Rain Man's movie posterwww.flickr.com

By then, the film had taken several forms—directors Steven Spielberg and Sydney Pollack had also been considered for the film, among others—but it was with director Barry Levinson that it finally found a home. Levinson felt Cruise was right for the part of the opportunistic and selfish Charlie Babbit who learns he has a brother—a person with autism and savant syndrome named Raymond, played by Hoffman. Charlie then takes Raymond on a road trip across the country, initially in hopes of using Raymond and his intellect for his own personal gain, but then forges a bond with him instead.

“I was impressed with [Cruise’s] work. What I gave him is the thing that he hasn’t often had the opportunity to do: work with a full character,” Barry Levinson toldRolling Stone in 1989. “His props get stripped away. He doesn’t have a pool cue. Tom is sharp enough to know that he’ll always have movies like Cocktail, but I don’t think he wants to sit still and just keep playing glamour guys.”

Rain Main became a massive success, garnering a host of Oscars, including another for Hoffman. It also helped Cruise gain more dramatic roles as an actor moving forward, Born on the Fourth of July and A Few Good Men among them. Cruise would be nominated for Oscars of his own, too, cementing his legacy as one of Hollywood’s leading actors.

Was it all because of a chance restaurant encounter? Maybe, maybe not. But it certainly didn’t hurt. It just goes to show that even the brightest stars regularly face their own insecurities, as we all do; but if opportunity knocks, no matter who you are, you better answer the door.

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