Tom Cruise and Away" (1992), both of which co-starred then-wife Nicole Kidman as his love interest. In 1994, Cruise starred along with Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater in Neil Jordan's "Interview with the Vampire", a gothic drama/horror film that was based on Anne Rice's best-selling novel. The film was well received, although Rice was initially quite outspoken in her criticism of Cruise having been cast in the film, as Julian Sands was her first choice. Upon seeing the film however, she paid $7,740 for a two-page ad in "Daily Variety" praising his performance and apologizing for her previous doubts about
Tom Cruise series, and grossed nearly $400 million at the box office. In 2007, Cruise took a rare supporting role for the second time in "Lions for Lambs", which was a commercial disappointment. This was followed by an unrecognizable appearance as "Les Grossman" in the 2008 comedy "Tropic Thunder" with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. This performance earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. Cruise played the central role in the historical thriller "Valkyrie" released on December 25, 2008 to box office success. In March 2010, Cruise completed filming the action-comedy "Knight and Day", in which he re-teamed with former