The history behind Brad Pitt’s reunion with Tom Cruise at the ‘F1’ premiere

Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise hadn’t been photographed together in more than two decades before their surprise reunion at the European premiere of the F1 movie. However, this wasn’t the first time that the pair’s lives and careers intersected with the world of motorsport.

The A-listers, who were all smiles on the red carpet in London on Monday, starred opposite each other in the 1994 horror flick Interview with the Vampire, which became an instant cult classic. Cruise later revealed that their shared love of racing dates back to that set.

“We’d go and race go-karts all night,” he said at CinemaCon in the spring. “Brad’s got a new movie with Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Kosinski. I can’t wait to see that this summer… He’s very good at driving. Believe me, I’ve raced against him.”

Though their paths never crossed again professionally, the pair’s shared passion for racing nearly led to a second collaboration. In the late 2010s, F1 director Joe Kosinski was developing a racing film with both Pitt and Cruise set to star – and do their own driving. But when the studio balked at Kosinski’s budget, the project was scrapped, and James Mangold would go on to make Ford v Ferrari with Christian Bale and Matt Damon instead.

Cruise, of course, found massive success with Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer on the 2022 smash Top Gun: Maverick, while Pitt eventually stepped into the driver’s seat for F1: The Movie. Still, the idea of a reunion lingered.

Pitt told E! News he’d be open to working with Cruise again, with just one caveat: “I’m not gonna hang my ass off airplanes and shit like that,” he quipped earlier this month. “So, when he does something again that’s on the ground, [then yes].”

Brad Pitt, actor playing Sonny Hayes, a driver of the fictional Apex APXGP F1 team

Photo by: Getty Images

Cruise has been a recurring topic of conversation throughout the F1 press tour, which would have made his appearance at the premiere curious, were it not for the fact he’s also promoting his own summer blockbuster – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning set a franchise opening weekend record in May, pulling in $200 million globally.

Some have argued that Pitt’s character – a washed-up, “punk rock” former driver – seems tailor-made for the Days of Thunder star. Kosinski himself even spoke out about what the film might have looked like with Cruise in the lead.

“Tom always pushes it to the limit, but at the same time is super capable and very skilled,” Kosinski told GQ. “They both have the natural talent for driving. But yeah, I could see Tom maybe scaring us a little bit more.”

Graham Kelly, an action-vehicle supervisor on the film, agreed with the director.

“We’d have had a crash,” he said of Cruise. “Tom pushes it to the limit. I mean really to the limit. That terrifies me. I mean, I’ve done loads of Mission: Impossibles with Tom and it’s the most stressful experience for someone like me building cars for him, doing stunts with him.

“Whereas Brad listens and he knows his abilities, and I think he’d be the first to say, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to do that’.”

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt

Photo by: Getty Images

Another thread that ties the two together is seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who co-produced the F1 flick. The Ferrari driver has become close with Pitt over the past four years, complimenting his driving skills and commending his work ethic.

The Brit has also been a fan of Cruise since he visited the Edge of Tomorrow film set in 2013, and reportedly “built a friendship” with him.

When the second Top Gun film was in development, Hamilton begged to get involved, telling the 2025 honorary Oscar recipient that he’d be willing to play a cleaner in the background. Although he was eventually offered the role of a fighter pilot, he was forced to turn it down due to his 2021 championship fight with Max Verstappen.

Years later, he told GQ that it “broke his heart” to walk away from the opportunity, but he eventually got his moment in the spotlight with this year’s summer blockbuster.