10 Seemingly Awful Movie Castings That Ultimately Paid Off

10. Tom Cruise As Lestat De Lioncourt - Interview With The Vampire

Long before he was Hollywood's go-to daredevil when it comes to all things action spectacle, Tom Cruise found himself acting as the industry's most tried-and-tested leading heartthrob, stealing the hearts of fans the world over with his work in everything from Risky Business to Top Gun.

But that still wasn't enough to convince fans of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, or the author herself, that Cruise had it in him to bring the commanding vampire Lestat de Lioncourt to life in the 1994 big-screen adaptation of her novel.

Rice would even go as far as to state:

"I don't think I've ever fallen under the spell of an actor when the voice wasn't a big component, and of course the very sad thing about Tom Cruise is he does not have that kind of distinct voice,"

However, despite Rice's hopes of Cruise perhaps dropping out of the role during production, the bona fide movie star only went and delivered the goods and then some with his portrayal of the famous blood-sucker. So much so, that Rice herself ended up dramatically changing her tune upon taking in the flick, eventually calling to apologise to the Lestat star and later noting "from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me."