Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire contributed some of the most quoted catchphrases in popular culture. The film had one of the most memorable performances from Cruise, who was nominated for an Oscar for the role. Renée Zellweger and Cruise’s chemistry worked in the film’s favor. The couple even gave us a great romantic line that ended with Zellweger saying the now-popular catchphrase, “You had me at ‘hello’”.
Interestingly, Cruise’s line in the romantic scene towards the end of the film came so easily to writer and director Cameron Crowe that he felt the need to change it completely. Crowe recalled that it was Cruise who insisted on keeping that line and asked Crowe to give him a chance to say it.
Tom Cruise Convinced Cameron Crowe To Keep Jerry Maguire‘s Best Quote Intact
While fans want to see Tom Cruise mostly in action movies now, there was a time when he was known for his romantic roles. He starred as the titular character in Jerry Maguire, a film about the experience of a sports agent in the 1993 NFL season. The Cameron Crowe film also included a beautiful love story between Cruise’s Maguire and Renée Zellweger‘s Dorothy Boyd.
The film had one scene towards the end where Cruise’s character barges into Dorothy’s home to confess his love for her. Maguire delivers an impassioned speech about how he loves Dorothy and wants to share his wins with her. The famous line was picked by THR as one of the top ten Hollywood’s all-time favorite romantic movie quotes.
However, director Crowe admitted that he initially didn’t think that the “you complete me” line would resonate with the audience. He gave the script to Cruise and told him that he was planning to change the exchange between Cruise and Zellweger. Cruise shared that he loved the line and wanted to say it in the film.
Crowe left it in as per Cruise’s request. Crowe remembered that the scene was shot at 4 am on a Friday, with the crew significantly exhausted from the day’s shoot. He shared that Cruise said the line at this time and his speech left everybody in the set in tears. Crowe shared (via THR):
It was one of those lines that came so easily, it felt almost too easy. When I first gave the script to Tom Cruise, and we were reading through it, I said, ‘I’m going to change that line.’ He said, ‘Uh, I love that line. Why don’t you give me a crack at it.’ I left it in, and on the night of filming — it was 4 a.m., on a Friday, and everybody was dropping from exhaustion — Tom says the line. By the end of his speech, everybody was in tears.
Crowe recalled that Zellweger was a wreck on the other end after Cruise’s powerful line delivery. Cruise later told the director that he really wanted to confess love in a movie scene. Crowe shared:
Across the room, Renee was a wreck. Tom had delivered the line so powerfully, and so directly to her, she was still getting over it. Later he told me, ‘I had always wanted to say ‘I love you’ like that in a movie.’
Jerry Maguire was a critical and commercial success, earning $273 million against a budget of $50 million (via Box Office Mojo). The film was nominated for five Oscars and went on to win the Best Supporting Actor for Cuba Gooding Jr.
Cameron Crowe Knew One Line Would Definitely Work In The Film
Unlike Tom Cruise’s romantic line, Cameron Crowe believed that Cuba Gooding Jr.‘s “Show me the money” would resonate with the audience. It did and the American Film Institute ranked it as the 25th best movie quote of all time in 2005. Crowe also revealed his inspiration for the dialogue in the Blu-ray release of the film.
Crowe based the character of Rod Tidwell, played by Gooding Jr., on former Phoenix Cardinals player Tim McDonald. Crowe shared that he once got to interview McDonald and heard him deliver the line. He shared (via The Huffington Post):
There was one guy that I interviewed very early on, his name was Tim McDonald and he played for, at the time, the Phoenix Cardinals. And he was there with his buddy and his buddy was watching CNN Moneyline.[McDonald] had one eye on Moneyline, too. And he just said, ‘I’ve gotten my butt kicked for five years. My contract is finally up. And I’ve told my agent one thing, ‘Show me the money.”
Crowe further shared that he was so impressed with the line that he “couldn’t get the line out of my head.” Crowe explained, “He’s not greedy at all. He’s just got a few more years left where he can get paid for what he does. I just thought, that’s a hero.”
Jerry Maguire is now available for streaming on Paramount+.
