The profession known as acting tends to attract people who want to become major stars as a result of their talents. However, just as there are some performers hoping to become the next Tom Cruise, there are those like Jake Johnson, who just want to do what they love. Johnson himself recalled exactly when he realized he didn’t want to be like the Mission: Impossible 7 star, and it involved a meet-up for dinner during production on The Mummy.
Yes, we’re talking about the 2017 reboot that was supposed to usher in Universal’s Dark Universe series. But the story Jake Johnson predates the tepid reaction to the horror/action flick. Talking to THR in support of his directorial debut Self Reliance, Johnson recalled meeting up with his colleague for a meal and how the situation became a bit hectic:
I went to dinner with Tom Cruise in Africa when we were doing The Mummy. We had an entire meal and I couldn’t believe that people didn’t approach him. But when we walk out, his security makes an announcement. The restaurant stops operation, they all follow outside and line up. He takes a photo with everybody. We found out later they’d told the staff, ‘Let him enjoy his meal and then he’ll take all your photos.’ That was it for me. I don’t want that. I love being a highly respected second-tier player. I love being next to Michael Jordan, but I don’t want his shots.
The Jurassic World alum makes a pretty solid point here, as he prefers to be noticed for work, like his role in the Fox sitcom New Girl, rather than being front and center in a major studio franchise. Johnson’s career path has only made that more apparent as of late. An example would be his reprisal of Peter B. Parker as part of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's cast,. There's also his role on the newly revived series Minx. While both projects will have fans undoubtedly excited, it's not like an entire restaurant is going to shut down because Johnson stars in them.
Tom Cruise, on the other hand, seems to enjoy that sort of attention, and the man doesn’t hide it. A fan of stunts both physical and promotional, Cruise recently helped surprise Mission: Impossible fans through a one-day/four city tour promoting Dead Reckoning - Part One. That sort of feat is not for everyone, though, and looking at the Paper Heart star's career path over the last couple of years, you can see where his passion truly lies.
It takes all sorts of performers to make the business of show run smoothly. Even the much-maligned Mummy reboot proved what can happen when folks from both sides collaborate. While the quality of the overall film can be debated, one thing that’s not in question is how well Tom Cruise and Jake Johnson worked together during their scenes. As always, perfect casting is like putting together a championship sports team. You need the Cruises and the Johnsons to make it all worth watching. In short, there need to be actors that follow Johnson’s lead to achieve such balance.
Jake Johnson may just end up scoring another win, thanks to Self Reliance. That project will make its debut at some point in September and will be streamable for those with a Hulu subscription.
