Hollywood often looks back fondly on old incidents through rose-colored glasses, forgetting that some of those moments might not have been all that glamorous. For Mia Sara, reflecting on her spectacular big-screen debut alongside an emerging megastar, Tom Cruise, has brought forth some unexpected memories.
In 1985, the two worked together on Ridley Scott‘s adventure-fantasy drama, ‘Legend.’ While the two shared genuine chemistry on screen, Cruise’s intense behavior on the set was hard for Sara to overlook. It turns out that working with cinema’s most famous star was a bittersweet experience for the 15-year-old.
Tom Cruise’s Extreme Approaches For ‘Legend’
Over 40 years ago, Mia Sara made her debut with ‘Legend,’ in which she starred alongside Tom Cruise. The ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ actress was just 15 at the time and was finding her footing in the industry.
During her recent appearance on The Slice of Life Show by Pete Ferriero, she recalled bumping into Ridley Scott, the first one to trust Sara with a lead role. Their conversation soon turned to Cruise and his dedication to his part.
“I ran into Ridley not that long ago, and it was really good to see him, and he said something that really just made me happy. He said, ‘You were so good with Tom.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I was really good…You know what? He was a very nice guy, but he’s a weird guy,” she said of Cruise.
When asked whether Cruise stayed in character throughout the shooting of the dark fantasy movie, Sara didn’t mince words. “He wanted to. Yeah. I mean, he tried to,” Sara admitted. “He was very sweet to me, and we got along very well, but it was, like, a lot.”
According to Sara, the ‘Vanilla Sky’ actor appeared “very insecure” about his acting chops and had disagreements with Scott over the movie’s plotline and run-time. In an 1986 interview with Rolling Stone, Cruise openly spoke of those differences.
“I’ll never want to do another picture like that again,” he said. Well, his words aged like fine wine because when ‘Legend’ came out, it received tons of poor reviews, with critics bashing the movie for multiple elements.
The Sad Aftermath Of A Critical Flop
In the magical world of ‘Legend,’ filled with unicorns and rainbows, Darkness (played by Tim Curry) tries to establish eternal night and kill off the remaining unicorns. The movie follows Jack (Cruise) and his buddies as they try to save the world and Princess Lili (Sara) from Darkness.
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The post-release scenario was daunting, as it failed to impress both critics and audiences. The movie couldn’t break even, earning just $23.5 million against a $25 million budget. Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle called it “a bad movie with good intentions.”
Moreover, The Chicago Tribune’s Gene Siskel compared it to remembering a “bad dream.” “I don’t want to remember any more about Legend than to make sure I include it in my ‘worst films of 1986’ list and never rent it when it comes out as a video cassette,” he said.
The movie’s poor reception reportedly broke Sara’s heart. “I was still so heartbroken because of Legend that with the success of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I don’t think I really appreciated it,” she revealed.
While Cruise transformed his youth angst into an invincible Hollywood machine, it left behind a memory that his teenage co-star still hasn’t forgotten.
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