News1 min ago
Lee Child/Jack Reacher/Tom Cruise
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I heard at the weekend that Tom Cruise is to play the part of Jack Reacher in a film edition of one of Lee Child's books. Can this be true???
Answers
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11:42 Wed 12th Sep 2012
There is a physical description of Jack Reacher in pretty well every book about him by Lee Child.
Here's a typical one from Bad Luck and Trouble...
"Six-five, two-fifty, hands as big as frozen turkeys...forearms like Frankenstein's monster."
And, later in the same book...
"His arms were like a gorilla's only longer and thicker."
Elsewhere, one of his women friends describes him as being "like a six and a half foot condom stuffed with walnuts", a phrase which Child actually ‘borrowed' from a book by Clive James. There is not a shred of doubt what this guy looks like in the author's mind.
Of course, film directors - and readers - are not obliged to stick to a writer's depiction of any given character, but there can be only a handful of actors around who fit the bill as far as Lee Child is concerned. Arnold Schwarzeneger at one time possibly, but Tom Cruise just ain't Jack Reacher!
Here's a typical one from Bad Luck and Trouble...
"Six-five, two-fifty, hands as big as frozen turkeys...forearms like Frankenstein's monster."
And, later in the same book...
"His arms were like a gorilla's only longer and thicker."
Elsewhere, one of his women friends describes him as being "like a six and a half foot condom stuffed with walnuts", a phrase which Child actually ‘borrowed' from a book by Clive James. There is not a shred of doubt what this guy looks like in the author's mind.
Of course, film directors - and readers - are not obliged to stick to a writer's depiction of any given character, but there can be only a handful of actors around who fit the bill as far as Lee Child is concerned. Arnold Schwarzeneger at one time possibly, but Tom Cruise just ain't Jack Reacher!
QM, I believe that was actually Clive James's description of Schwarzenegger. It's possible Child used the phrase in the vague hope that it would lure him into taking on the role on screen; but as you say, he's a bit past it now.
Given the comparatively small number of actors with the required gorilla-like appearance, I would have thought Cruise would be as good as any. After all, Ian Fleming wanted David Niven as James Bond; Sean Connery couldn't have been much further off the mark - and yet he didn't do badly.
Given the comparatively small number of actors with the required gorilla-like appearance, I would have thought Cruise would be as good as any. After all, Ian Fleming wanted David Niven as James Bond; Sean Connery couldn't have been much further off the mark - and yet he didn't do badly.
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seems it's not a popular choice!
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seems it's not a popular choice!
fyi, David Niven did play James Bond in Casino Royale, but by the time the films were made he would have been too old, even if Ian Fleming had written it with him in mind. And for my money Sean Connery was a good match.
Tom Cruise doesn't seem an obvious choice to play the character, but you know Hollywood doesn't always get it right.
Tom Cruise doesn't seem an obvious choice to play the character, but you know Hollywood doesn't always get it right.
