Mickey Rourke Slams Tom Cruise on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’: “He’s Irrelevant”

Mickey Rourke is not flying high over the popularity of Top Gun: Maverick. During an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, the actor ripped into Top Gun star Tom Cruise, blasting his return to the film franchise and proclaiming he’s not impressed by Cruise’s filmography.

When Morgan asked Rourke about “someone like Tom Cruise grossing a billion dollars with Top Gun: Maverick … 35 years after the first one, what do you think of that?” the Diner actor dismissed Cruise’s success with a blunt reply.

“That doesn’t mean shit to me,” Rourke told Morgan. “The guy’s been doing the same effing part for 35 years, you know?”

He continued, “I got no respect for that … Really, brother. I don’t care about money and power. I care about when I watch Al Pacino working, Chris Walken and [Robert] De Niro’s early work, Richard Harris’ work and Ray Winstone’s work — that’s the kind of actor I want to be, like Monty Clift and [Marlon] Brando back in the day. A lot of guys that just tried to stretch as actors.”

Morgan egged his guest on, asking, “You don’t think Tom Cruise is a good actor?” to which Rourke responded, “I think he’s irrelevant, in my world.”

Cruise first played Maverick in Top Gun in 1986, and reprised his role in this year’s sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. The latest film in the fighter jet franchise has made $1.18 billion worldwide at the box office, per Box Office Mojo, making it the highest grossing movie of the year so far.

And if you listen to Cruise’s co-star Miles Teller, there may be even more Top Gun money to be made. Teller said he’s been “having some conversations” with Cruise about another Top Gun film (sorry, Mickey).

Piers Morgan Uncensored airs on FOX Nation. Watch Rourke’s full comments in the video above.

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