Tom Cruise's Worst Movie Changed Filmmaking For This Batman Star
Sometimes the most insignificant at first glance experiences can make major changes in our life. Paul Dano highly praised for his role of The Riddler in Matt Reeves' Batman said that for him such experience was working with Tom Cruise.
In his interview with GQ, Paul Dano, who has taken part in numerous different projects and worked with such globally-recognized directors as Paul Thomas Anderson, Bong Joon Ho, Steve McQueen, and others explained that it was his work in Knight and Day that changed his idea of filmmaking and helped establish his manner of directing.
Knight and Day is a 2010 action comedy directed by James Mangold. Paul Dano is playing a genius inventor in hiding, teaming up with a secret agent played by Tom Cruise and a classic car restorer portrayed by Cameron Diaz. The film received mixed reviews from critics and viewers, and definitely can not be placed among the best in Tom Cruise's filmography.
Nevertheless, Cruise's attitude towards his audience and approach to his work on the set of Knight and Day, specifically his interactions with the stunt team, have greatly influenced Dano and made him rethink the process of film production. Dano told GQ how impressed he was with Tom Cruise's passion for his audience.
Apparently, Cruise always evaluates how his every move could affect the viewers and if a stunt scene can reach and speak to the audience. Dano took this elaborate approach with him when directing Wildlife. He said that his goal in Wildlife was to highlight every action of every character and make sure the scene changes once an actor appears in it. And we know that this approach worked really well for Wildlife.
The film shown at the Sundance Film Festival 2018 garnered critical acclaim and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. Paul Dano's directing and the acting of Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ed Oxenbould were highly praised by both critics and viewers. What an impressive outcome of co-acting with Cruise!
This is not the first time Tom Cruise is being complimented for his stunt work. Another famous actor who's been co-starring with Cruise in Mission: Impossible movies, Simon Pegg, has been very vocal about how fascinated he was watching Cruise work on his death-defying stunts. Such professionalism "puts the willies up you," Pegg said (via IndieWire).