Iconic action star Tom Cruise had some interesting advice in response to his Edge of Tomorrow co-star Emily Blunt complaining about her armored in costume on set.
Blunt recalled how heavy the robotic suits she and Cruise wore in the 2014 sci-fi film about a future world occupied by aliens based on the 2004 Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
She said on the SmartLess podcast:
“We had to wear these enormous suits, which I think would’ve been great if we had CGI’d them, but we wanted to do it in a tactile way."
Blunt continued:
“When you hear the word ‘tactile,’ you think that sounds nice and cozy. There was nothing cozy about these suits."
"It was like 85 pounds. It was so heavy. The first time I put it on I started to cry, and [Cruise] didn’t know what to do.”
Her mounting anxiety over wearing the restrictive and heavy battle suit prompted her to articulate her concern.
“I was like, ‘Tom, I’m not sure how I’m going to get through this shoot,’ and just started to cry. I said, ‘I’m feeling a bit panicky about the whole shoot'."
Cruise replied in the moment with a very candid and, er, blunt response.
"He just stared at me for a long time, not knowing what to do, and he goes, ‘Come on, stop being such a p*ssy, OK?’”
\u201cEmily Blunt cried the first time she put on her 85-pound #EdgeOfTomorrow suit: "[Tom Cruise] just stared at me for a long time, not knowing what to do, and he goes, \u2018Come on, stop being such a p---y, ok?\u2019 I did laugh, and then we got through it.\u201d https://t.co/z4rDYjWSmU\u201d— Variety (@Variety) 1670888160
Cruise's NSFW motivational tactic managed to elicit a chuckle from his co-star.
"And I did laugh and we got through it," said Blunt.
\u201c@PubityIG Not a big deal tom was just strong\u201d— Pubity (@Pubity) 1670772094
To argue against anyone criticizing Cruise for his choice of a misogynist slur to lighten the mood, pop culture commentator Graeme O'Neil "explained" why this was not a problem.
Tom Cruise Tells Emily Blunt To Stop Being A 'P***y'youtu.be
A majority of male commenters also shrugged their shoulders.
\u201c@nypost If you read the article, Blunt (one of my personal favorites) is not complaining. Cruise\u2019s comment was received as a tension-breaker and motivational. Sounds like how a legendary actor would treat a colleague he sees as a peer, and adds to Cruise\u2019s lore in my opinion.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
\u201c@nypost Sounds like solid life advice. Maybe he should give campus talks.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
\u201c@nypost He\u2019s an intense dude and calls it like he sees it.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
\u201c@nypost Great advice, honestly\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
Many other men online thought Cruise's pep talk led to success.
\u201c@nypost Well that\u2019s probably why that movie was so f\u2019ing awesome.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
\u201c@nypost @_MedGold And then she became tough and made the film. An excellent Christmas story all around\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
\u201c@nypost And the end result of the film was better for it. BASED\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
\u201c@nypost She probably needed to hear it; she was great in that movie.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1670689668
You can listen to the podcast, here.
\u201cWe find our Quiet Place with the wonderfully charming Emily Blunt. It\u2019s an all-new SmartLess. @SmartLess @SeanHayes @batemanjason @arnettwill\n\n\u201cSmartLess\u201d is available one week early & ad-free with Wondery+ on @ApplePodcasts or the @WonderyMedia app, and early on @amazonmusic.\u201d— \u201cSmartLess\u201d (@\u201cSmartLess\u201d) 1670853602
Blunt later set the record straight about her personal feelings about Cruise using misogyny to lighten the mood. Blunt said her remark was "taken literally and absurdly out of context" by some fans and certain media outlets.
She told People magazine:
"I absolutely adore Tom, he's a dear friend and he was a total gem to me."
"It was said as a joke to make me laugh, which it did in a big way."
Production designer Oliver Scholl and his team worked with lead builder Pierre Hohanna to develop the battle suits based on real-world powered exoskeleton initiatives, like the ones supported by DARPA–a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense whose innovations included developing technologies for the military.
In the film, there were three versions of battle suits called, "grunts, dogs and tanks."
While they were designed to be utilitarian, they were created in a way the actors could wear them and be able to run in them.
Edge of Tomorrow was a commercial success. It made over $370.5 million worldwide during its theatrical run against a cost of $178 million to make it.
