Tom Cruise’s acting skills don’t take Mickey Rourke’s breath away.
The “Sin City” actor called the “Top Gun: Maverick” star “irrelevant” in a new interview.
“The guy has been doing the same effing part for 35 years…I have no respect for that,” Rourke, 69, said on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” when asked about Cruise, 60, who Monday revived his role from the original 1986 “Top Gun” movie.
Rourke also noted that he was unimpressed that “Maverick” was Cruise’s first film to gross over $1 billion at the box office.
“Money and power don’t interest me,” Rourke said, arguing that Cruise’s acting skills don’t match those of other big names in Hollywood.
“I care when I see Al Pacino working and… [Christopher] walken and [Robert] The early work of De Niro and the work of Richard Harris and the work of Ray Winstone, that’s the kind of actor I want to be. [Montgomery] Clift and [Marlon] Brando used to be.”
When Morgan, 57, pushed Rourke further on whether he thinks Cruise is a good actor, the “Angel Heart” star didn’t hold back.
“I don’t think he’s relevant in my world,” Rourke replied.
A sequel to the 1986 cult classic, “Top Gun: Maverick” made headlines after grossing over $100 million in its first three days in North American theaters. Including international screenings, the film’s worldwide total reached $248 million.
Deadline reported that “Maverick” had taken in more than $1 billion at the box office worldwide by the end of June.
And due to the film’s huge success, Cruise’s co-star Miles Teller revealed that a “Top Gun 3” could be in the works.
“I’ve had some conversations with him” [Cruise] about the. We’ll see,” Teller told Entertainment Tonight last week.