Rob Lowe has explained that Tom Cruise deprived him of two roles he wanted: Top Gun and Jerry Maguire. Lowe used the word "dastardly" to describe the rivalry. He stressed there is no hard feelings on either side.
Nicole Kidman, Cruise's former wife, once said she was close to leaving acting for him. Both of these remarks place him at the centre of major career turning points for people around him during the 1980s and 1990s.