A Few Good Men: Lowe Vs Cruise???

The 1992 film version of A Few Good Men starred Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson as, respectively, a rookie Navy defence lawyer and the hard-bitten colonel implicated in the crime being investigated, roles now being taken in the upcoming West End stage production by Rob Lowe and Bad Girls’ Jack Ellis. Unsurprisingly, both Lowe and Ellis were questioned at yesterday’s press conference for the show about comparisons with their film counterparts (See News, 27 Jul 2005). Ellis, who hasn’t been on stage for a decade, seemed more concerned because “I’ve never really played an American before, not at this level anyway”. Lowe said that he and Cruise were “sort of like college roommates” since they were both making their first films around the same time in the 1980s. When asked whether he’d sought advice from Cruise about playing Lt Daniel Kaffee, Lowe replied, “No, I haven’t spoken to Tom about that because” – he quipped, borrowing the catchphrase from the posters for the Aaron Sorkin play – “I don’t think he can handle the truth”. According to Lowe, “Lt Kaffee is one of the great parts in contemporary theatre. He’s funny, dramatic… but he may have a little too much to do.” It’s only the first week of rehearsals, the actor laughed, and he is already “seriously rethinking it”.

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