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NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is embroiled in a feud with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, shared a previously untold story about his late father.
On Tuesday, he made a confession that Dale Earnhardt Sr. turned down a role in the original Days of Thunder, per Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media Podcast.
He said that Tom Cruise approached his father about playing the role of his rival, Rowdy Burns. However, the intimidator said no.
In part, this was due to his reluctance to be cast as a villain.
“So Tom Cruise basically came by to sit down and talk to dad because dad's character was Rowdy Burns,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “And they used a lot of the sort of, you know, the same vibe, I guess, of dad to do the Rowdy Burns character. Dad even said after that conversation, that in the conversation with Tom Cruise, Tom mentioned that dad should play the role. And dad was like, you know, the way this sounds is he's the bad guy and I really don't want to be the villain. That's not my style.”
The role ended up going to Michael Rooker. Rooker would go on to act in other movies.
Among them were films such as JFK, The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Fast & Furious franchise.
Cruise is fresh off the success of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, which has grossed $562 million worldwide.
Days of Thunder introduced the world to NASCAR
Since its release, Days of Thunder has become a cult classic. The story is based on the true story of an actual NASCAR driver.
The late Tim Richmond was the inspiration for Cole Trickle. A flashy open-wheelopen-wheel racer who didn't conform to the the good-ole-boy prototype in NASCAR.
His crew chief, Harry Hyde, was from the old school and didn't mess around. In the movie, he was Harry Hogge, played by Robert Duvall. In many ways, the film gave the world a glimpse into the world of NASCAR.
The sport eventually hit its peak in the 1990s and early 2000s.
On Tuesday, legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer officially confirmed a Days of Thunder sequel.
