'Jerry Maguire' Star Jonathan Lipnicki Reveals Tom Cruise's Acting Advice
Tom Cruise is really a standup guy!
The actor’s Jerry Maguire co-star Jonathan Lipnicki stopped by for an interview on Access Hollywood Live on Wednesday, Jan. 4 in honor of the movie’s 20th anniversary — and revealed the great advice he recently received from the movie star!
The child star — who played Renee Zellweger’s adorable son in the hit 1996 film — explained he wasn’t originally the first choice for the role of Ray Boyd. The casting director decided to go with another actor and they actually filmed scenes with him for about two weeks before they realized he wasn’t working out. The casting team held more auditions and finally, Jonathan’s agent persuaded them to let him try out again.
Tom and Jonathan with Nicole Kidman at the NYC premiere of Jerry Maguire.
When he joined the set, Jonathan said he was excited because he was big fan of 54-year-old actor from Top Gun. But even though Tom was pleased with his new co-star, he continued to send notes and advice to the previous actor so the child wouldn’t feel bad about losing the part.
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“Tom is so amazing, I’m really not surprised,” Jonathan said. “I hear that and I was like, ‘That’s Tom.’ I mean, he is the best person to work with and the fact that I got to work with him on my first movie really set a great tone for someone to look up to — he’s the ultimate professional.”
The 26-year-old revealed the Edge of Tomorrow star gave him acting advice about four years ago. Tom invited him over to his house after Jonathan called and left a message at the Mission Impossible star’s office, asking for advice about how to make the transition from a child actor to a movie star.
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“He is such a hard worker and what he told me about hard work and being respectful,” Jonathan explained. “A big part of his success, he attributes to being on time and being polite to people and knowing people’s names.”
Click through the gallery below to see the Jerry Maguire cast then and now!
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