10 Movie Performances That Proved People Wrong

Though he was undoubtedly one of the most in-demand names on the planet on the back of appearing in the likes of Cocktail, Top Gun, Rain Man, and Born on the Fourth of July, not everybody was falling over themselves to see what Tom Cruise would do next back in 1994.

Specifically, Anne Rice, the author behind the Interview with the Vampire novel, was completely against the casting of Cruise in the role of Lestat de Lioncourt for the incoming big screen adaptation of her work. She much preferred the idea of Julian Sands taking up the part, however the studio felt he didn't carry the same name value as Cruise. So, the megastar was ultimately given a chance to shine once again despite Rice claiming the casting was "so bizarre; it's almost impossible to imagine how it's going to work".

But work it did, and Cruise would go on to receive widespread acclaim for his mesmerising portrayal of the routinely explosive, bleach blonde vampire. Rice would even backtrack on her criticism of his casting, admitting that "from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me" after taking in the film for the first time.