Charlie Sheen revisited one of his most personal Hollywood setbacks while reflecting on his early career. The actor opened up about losing the lead role in Born on the Fourth of July to Tom Cruise. He described the experience as a moment of “betrayal.”
Charlie Sheen felt ‘betrayal’ after losing role to Tom Cruise
Charlie Sheen recalled feeling a “betrayal” after losing the lead role in Born on the Fourth of July to Tom Cruise. “The thing that is weird is [director Oliver Stone] said, ‘I want you to do Born on the Fourth,’” Sheen told Graham Bensinger in a YouTube interview on October 29. He said he had multiple meetings with Stone and Ron Kovic, whose autobiography inspired the 1989 film. The communication then abruptly stopped.
Sheen later contacted Stone’s office and learned the director was in Cuba. Soon after, his brother Emilio Estevez called and told him, “Cruise is doing Born on the Fourth.” Sheen initially thought something tragic had happened, saying, “It’s a movie,” but he admitted the loss meant “a big deal” to him.
Sheen said his friendship with Cruise at the time made the news harder. “It was also the betrayal factor of it,” he explained, noting Stone’s long-standing admiration for Cruise. “It’s a different movie if Tom does it than if I do it.” He added that he had never signed a contract, saying, “You can’t lose something you never had.”
The actor confronted Stone later at a bar, where the director told him, “I just felt like you didn’t have any passion for it.” Sheen responded, “How do you know how much passion I lost if we never talked about it again?” Despite the disappointment, Sheen praised Cruise’s portrayal of Kovic, calling it “brilliant” and saying he “should have won the freaking Oscar.”
Born on the Fourth of July earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Cruise.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
