Tom Cruise offered to help complete Heath Ledger's last film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, but was rejected by the film's director, Terry Gilliam, because Cruise had not personally known the late star. Instead, Gilliam hired Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play different versions of the character Ledger had begun to portray in the film when he passed away during a break from filming. Gilliam told Total Film magazine, "I'm not sure if it was Tom or his agent (who put Cruise forward for the role). I know there was a period when Tom's agents were keen. The thing is, I was only interested in people who were friends of Heath. Simple as that. I wanted to keep it in the family." The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus screens at the Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on Friday, September 18.
Tags:
colin farrell, Heath Ledger, imaginarium of dr. parnassus, Johnny Depp, jude law, terry gilliam, tiff, tiff 2009, Tom Cruise
Comments:
Tom would have probably ruined the film, this is for the best.