Inside Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt's feud amid fresh Hollywood drama

There have always been rumors that they didn’t see eye-to-eye, so news that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise would be going toe-to-toe at the box office this summer – Pitt with his racing film F1 and Cruise with the final instalment of Mission: Impossible - raised eyebrows in Hollywood.

But Cruise, 62, has taken many by surprise by going out of his way to praise Pitt, 61, revealing that the pair began a bromance during the making of Interview with the Vampire way back in 1994, which they both starred in.

Referring to 'my friend Brad Pitt,' Cruise said of Pitt’s forthcoming film: 'It will be great to see Brad driving. He’s very good, a very good driver, believe me.

'I’ve raced against him - when we were doing Interview with the Vampire, we would go and race go karts. We’d literally finish and then go and drive go karts all night. He’s a hell of a driver.'

For the first time in more than 30 years the stars' paths will cross, as director Joseph Kosinski, who worked closely with Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, has teamed up with Pitt for F1 - and Cruise seems keen to dispel any rumors of a feud or rivalry between them.

Sources say there were issues during the making of the cult Vampire film, which was shot in New Orleans and London, with Pitt hating the constraints of his role as Louis de Pointe du Lac, who is made into a vampire by Cruise’s Lestat de Lioncourt. 

Pitt didn’t appreciate being second billing to Cruise, and didn’t always get along with the actor’s intensity.

At that point, Pitt was known as a Hollywood 'bad boy' - keen on weed, booze and nightclubs. 

Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise will be going toe-to-toe at the box office this summer – Pitt with his racing film F1 and Cruise with the final instalment of Mission: Impossible

Cruise, 62, has taken many by surprise by going out of his way to praise Pitt, 61, revealing that the pair began a bromance during the making of Interview with the Vampire way back in 1994

He apparently dated British actress Thandie Newton, 52, who had a small role in the film. Meanwhile, Cruise was a big movie star, onto his second marriage to Nicole Kidman.

Although Pitt was sour about the film and their lives were very different, Cruise's revelation that they spent filming downtime together racing karts indicates there was never really any bad blood.

Following his split from Angelina Jolie in 2016, Pitt has apparently gained respect for Cruise, not just as a person but as a movie producer – a role Pitt now also takes - and his tireless championing of cinema.

Although the pair have completely different social circles and outlooks, with Cruise a devoted Scientologist and Pitt an art-loving bohemian (in fact, a love of fast cars and motorbikes is pretty much the only thing they have in common), a source tells me 'they truly respect each other.'

The casting of Cruise as Lestat in Vampire was always controversial. Author Anne Rice wanted anyone else – supporting actors including Julian Sands and Boris Godunov. 

Pitt thought that the role was going to be taken by Daniel Day-Lewis, who was a hero of his. 

Instead, the suits wanted Cruise and, although everyone thought he couldn’t pull off the role, he did.

Still, there were some tensions. In an interview, Pitt said that Cruise’s famous positivity bugged him. 

Referring to 'my friend Brad Pitt,' Cruise said of Pitt’s forthcoming film: 'It will be great to see Brad driving. He’s very good, a very good driver, believe me.' They're seen in 1998

For the first time in more than 30 years the stars' paths will cross, as director Joseph Kosinski, who worked closely with Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick , has teamed up with Pitt for F1

'There came a point during filming when I started really resenting him,' he said. 'He’s North Pole, I’m South.

'He’s always coming at you with a handshake, whereas I may bump into you. There was this underlying competition that got in the way of any real conversation.'

He added: 'Six months in the f**king dark, contact lenses, make-up, I’m playing the b***h role. Now I’d be able to say: "This is a problem, we fix this, or I’m outta here."'

Director Neil Jordan says that it was no secret Pitt didn’t enjoy making the film - and no secret that nobody wanted Cruise as the star.

He said: 'Anne Rice didn’t want Tom in it. I felt I could get a great performance out of him, and he felt it too.

'I thought he was great in that movie. Tom Cruise is like a finely tuned machine. There’s something terrifying about him when he gets going.'

Further tensions arose on set owing to their contrasting acting styles.

Jordan added: 'Tom is more chiseled, infinitely more prepared; Brad has to feel it. But he was a really fascinating actor. 

Following his split from Angelina Jolie in 2016, Pitt has apparently gained respect for Cruise, not just as a person but as a movie producer

'I know it sounds like Hollywood bullshit, but I really enjoyed working with both of them.'

Some years later, Pitt and Cruise seemed to be circling each other when Cruise starred in the 2008 World War II thriller Valkyrie and Pitt in Inglourious Basterds a year later. 

In an interview, Pitt apparently described Valkyrie as 'silly,' but his publicist immediately said this was 'not accurate' – he didn’t want to get drawn into any kind of conflict with Cruise.

And now, Cruise is generously taking time to talk up Pitt’s summer blockbuster alongside his own. 

He enthusiastically added: 'Brad’s got the movie Formula 1 with Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Kosinski. I can’t wait to see that movie this summer. It will be awesome.'

Back in 2023, when Pitt was in the UK filming F1, Cruise apparently advised him to go to Wimbledon for the tennis – Cruise is a regular at the event. 

In the end, Cruise was too busy making Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning to join him. 

There was also talk that both men might go to the Goodwood Festival of Speed together that year.