Renée Zellweger Recalls Jerry Maguire Audition & First Time Meeting Tom Cruise

Actress Renee Zellweger has recalled her audition for Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, meeting Tom Cruise, and eventually shooting the now-famous end scene. Zellweger had previously only starred in a few films, including Empire Records and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation before landing the famous role of Dorothy Boyd in the sports dramedy. Zellweger would go on to become a two-time Academy Award winner for her work as a supporting actress in 2004’s Cold Mountain with Nicole Kidman, and then for her portrayal of Judy Garland in 2020’s Judy.

Cruise starred as the titular character of Jerry Maguire, a sports agent who suffers a crisis of conscience and decides to break out on his own, taking Zellweger’s Boyd with him. The film is one of Cruise’s few comedic/dramatic performances that doesn’t involve globe-trotting spy action or sprinting at maximum pace. Crowe had previously directed the dramedy hits Say Anything with John Cusack and Singles with Bridget Fonda and Matt Dillon, and would follow up Jerry Maguire with the Oscar-winning Almost Famous.

In a new interview segment from Role Recall in 2016 with Yahoo!, Zellweger recalled her audition for Jerry Maguire, saying how “hilarious” it was that Cruise was waiting for her as she drove to the audition, as he was a major star and she was still a relative unknown at the time. The actress said that Cruise’s “superstar thing” disappeared immediately upon meeting him, saying that the “truth of who he is” was quickly revealed and she felt it was “easy to like him.” Read her full quote below:

“You walk in the room, and the whole superstar thing of this person disappears. And the truth of who he is is right there … He shakes your hand, looks you in the eye, [says] ‘Happy to meet you,’ and he is. And he’s curious about you and wants to get to know you. And it’s very easy to like him.”

Zellweger than recalled the story of shooting the now-classic end scene, which made the line “you had me at hello” famous. The actress said that she had grappled with the line at first, asking Crowe about it “a lot.” Eventually, they filmed the scene and Crowe’s directing style put her at ease and helped her find the line. “He would throw out suggestions [for alternate lines], and keeps it rolling. And he did that a lot and I loved it,” the actress said. “Because you didn’t have to stop and reset everything in order to get back to where you were … You could just keep on expanding on what it is that you’re exploring.” The now-iconic line is listed in AFI’s 100 greatest movie quotes of all time list.

Given that Zellweger’s super stardom now rivals Cruise himself, it’s interesting to hear fun stories like this about the actress’ early career. Jerry Maguire was a defining movie for Zellweger, launching her into superstardom and sending her on a path to Oscar fame and decades of noteworthy performances. Even with a six-year gap after 2010, Zellweger came back to win yet another Oscar for Judy and prove that she still had the magic even after a six-year gap from Hollywood. Versatile and magnetic, Zellweger will no doubt continue to showcase her acting abilities and add more golden trophies to her mantelpiece, as she’s proven to be a Hollywood mainstay that should never be bet against.

Source: Yahoo!

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