Jack Reacher Creator Says Tom Cruise Is ‘Too Old’ For Action Movies

One of the biggest action movie stars in the world was seemingly poked at by an action book author. To make things more interesting, it was author Lee Child who suggested that Tom Cruise was “too old” for action movies, which is odd considering Cruise has played one of Child’s characters in two different movies. The movie star portrayed Jack Reacher in the 2012 self-titled mystery thriller, and again in 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Child apparently thinks the 57-year-old “needs to move on” from the action film genre.

When speaking with The Sunday Times recently, Child noted that he was interested in taking Jack Reacher to television instead of opting for a third movie. Cruise was interested in a third film, despite Never Go Back being received poorly by critics and fans, but it wasn’t the direction the author wanted.

“Cruise was reluctant. He had his own investment in it, he was going to argue against it. It sounds extremely patronizing but I think it’s good for him. He’s too old for this stuff. He’s 57, he needs to move on, transition to being a character actor. He could get another 20 years out of it. He has the talent. He’s a terrific guy, very considerate, good fun.”

While it might seem like a diss to say Cruise is “too old” for action movies, Child is also giving the actor a compliment suggesting his skills in acting are quite versatile. Cruise has starred in many other films outside the action genre, including Jerry Maguire, Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia, Vanilla Sky, Rock of Ages, A Few Good Men, and The Firm. to name a few.

Child’s comments about Cruise having the “talent” to be a character actor are backed by truth, with three Academy Award nominations to Cruise’s name for Magnolia, Jerry Maguire, and Born on the Fourth of July. Cruise also has seven Golden Globe nominations with three wins for the three aforementioned films. He was also nominated for his work in Tropic Thunder, Risky Business, A Few Good Men, and The Last Samurai.

These days, it seems like it’s only action movies on the docket for Cruise, however, with four (possibly five) films in some stage of production that fall into that category. These upcoming films include two new Mission: Impossible flicks, as well as Top Gun: Maverick and the highly anticipated Edge of Tomorrow sequel. Cruise has been cast in the recently announced Luna Park film which has no release date at this time.