Dwayne Johnson admits that Tom Cruise beat him to this role

Dwayne Johnson has revealed that Tom Cruise beat him to a role. The Fast and Furious star admitted that “10 years ago” he auditioned for the part of Jack Reacher, but lost out to Cruise. Jack Reacher has proved to be a highly successful film series, with the first movie making $218 million at the box office in 2012, and last year’s follow-up not far off those figures.

Cruise’s casting was not favored by everyone, with many fans against the decision, even forming a Facebook page titled “Tom Cruise is not Jack Reacher”. Perhaps Johnson would have been a more popular choice, and the Baywatch actor revealed on Twitter that he would have loved the part:

Yup, luv the character. Bout 10yrs ago I went after the role, but Cruise got it. Was great motivation for me to always stay hungry. https://t.co/bwpZfEVIMm

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 12, 2017

Johnson would certainly have matched the character physically, as Jack Reacher is described in the novels by Lee Childs as 6’5 and weighing 250 pounds. Anyway we’re sure Johnson has gotten over it, as he became the world’s highest paid actor last year.