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.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Stoic statueCanva
A family makes heart shapes with their hands at sunset
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com