What Doug Liman Learned Living With Tom Cruise While Making American Made

Tom Cruise in the Edge of Tomorrow

Over the last few years, Tom Cruise has established himself as an actor who likes to form long-term partnerships with directors. We have seen that happen with Mission: Impossible director Chris McQuarrie, and he also seems to have developed a strong connection with Edge of Tomorrow's Doug Liman. The duo's next project, American Made, will hit theaters at the end of the summer, and it sounds like the process of living together during production was the quintessential roommate dynamic. Specifically: Tom Cruise is incredibly Type A, and Doug Liman is a bit more laid back. Liman explained:

It was like The Odd Couple because he's super meticulous. Also, he eats nothing but greens and seeds. We ended up having two refrigerators because I'm all about frozen pizzas.

I would be lying to you if I said that any of Doug Liman's recent comments on the Happy Sad Confused podcast surprised me. You do not get to be one of Hollywood's top action heroes for three straight decades (and arguably hit your peak in your 50s) while eating frozen pizzas. Tom Cruise clearly understands the importance of taking care of himself, and making sure that he maintains a discipline that allows him to keep going on impossible missions and holding his status as the top gun. It just makes sense. When you're hanging onto the side of a plane or holding your breath for minutes at a time, you don't want to have a stomach full of greasy pizza.

It also sounds like Tom Cruise's hyper meticulous nature bled into the division of household chores as well. Doug Liman continued his explanation to talk about how the actor maintains a very strict standard of cleanliness, saying:

There was a lot of bitching about whose dishes were in the sink. I would clean stuff, and he would pull it out of the dishwasher and say, 'That's not clean enough.

These two men are Hollywood powerhouses, and yet their bickering sounds so familiar to the average person. Let's be honest; we have all been Doug Liman or Tom Cruise in our own family or roommate situations at some point.

Of course, these issues are mundane when compared to the topics tackled by Tom Cruise and Doug Liman in American Made. Centering on a pilot working for the CIA in the 1980s, the film follows the drug war in South America and takes a close look at the adventures (and the human cost) of the campaign. The film also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Caleb Landry Jones, and Jesse Plemons.

Despite their differences, while living together during the production of American Made, it does not sound like the process has driven a rift between Tom Cruise and Doug Liman. The two are currently in the course of developing Live Die Repeat and Repeat (the sequel to Edge of Tomorrow), and all eyes are on them to capture the same magic that made the first film so endlessly watchable. That said, it sounds like they may opt to live away from each other during the production of their next film.

Tom Cruise and Doug Liman's American Made will make its theatrical debut later this year on September 17. Until then, make sure to take a look at CinemaBlend's 2017 movie premiere guide to keep yourself up to date on all of the most highly anticipated theatrical releases of the year.

Conner Schwerdtfeger

Originally from Connecticut, Conner grew up in San Diego and graduated from Chapman University in 2014. He now lives in Los Angeles working in and around the entertainment industry and can mostly be found binging horror movies and chugging coffee.