Tom Cruise has always had an interesting reputation in Hollywood. And now Demi Moore is shedding some light on what it was like working with him back in the early ’90s.
During a Q&A with Jia Tolentino at the New Yorker Festival on October 25th, the 62-year-old Oscar-nominated actress reflected on her time filming A Few Good Men with the 63-year-old Mission: Impossible actor, revealing that she sensed that he might have felt “awkward” and “embarrassed” about her being pregnant before shooting began. Keep reading for more info…
Demi Moore Recalls Tom Cruise Being ‘Awkward’ And ‘Embarrassed’ By Her Pregnancy
When reading for the movie initially began, Moore was nearly eight months pregnant with Scout, now 34, her second daughter with ex-husband Bruce Willis. (The two are also parents to daughters Rumer, 37, and Tallulah, 31.)
The Substance actress recalled reading lines alongside Cruise and director Rob Reiner while heavily pregnant, and said: “I think Tom was quite embarrassed.” She said that while she personally felt fine, her co-star didn’t seem as comfortable.
“I actually felt okay about it. I was moving around, though, right? But I could tell he felt that it was a bit awkward,” the Striptease star remembered.
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Demi Moore Reflects On Women Having To Choose Between Motherhood Or A Career
The Landman actress went on to say she understands why the Top Gun: Maverick star might have felt that way, noting that not many women in Hollywood were having children at the time while also working. She recalled how there was immense pressure to choose between motherhood and a career at that time, adding that it was something she never accepted and actively pushed back against.
"It's one of the many things, for me, that I just felt didn't make sense," she said. "And so I challenged that to say, you know, 'Why not? Why can't you have both?' But with that, I think, came a lot of pressure I put on myself to, in a sense, prove that it was possible."
The Indecent Proposal star has previously opened up about the challenges of balancing work and family, and she admitted again that she may have pushed herself too hard in an effort to prove women could do it all. Calling herself "a bit of an overachiever," she confessed: "I look back at that time now, and I go, 'What the [expletive] was I thinking?'"
"And what was I even trying to prove?" the ageless actress continued, adding: "But it wasn't as supported as it is today. You know, to be breastfeeding and then blocking and rehearsing a scene."
The Pressures Of Getting Back To Pre-Pregnancy Shape
The Ghost alum believes that actresses definitely have it easier these days, especially in terms of having support as working mothers. "The next generation doesn't have to strive for as much," she said, adding that young moms in the industry are far more supported now than she was.
Back then, Moore said she pushed herself hard to bounce back to her pre-pregnancy body even before actually giving birth, as she knew she would have a relatively unforgiving outfit to wear for A Few Good Men. "I was going to be in a military uniform, and probably overly anticipated and started working out and trying to get in shape even before she was born," Moore recalled.
"I did a two-and-a-half-hour hike the day my water broke," the One Crazy Summer actress confessed. "I did a 24-mile bike ride, and then was dancing at a reggae club – hence why she came two-and-a-half weeks early."
