Rob Lowe reflected on his relationship with childhood pal, Tom Cruise, and said that he was on the receiving end of a hard hit at one point during their friendship.
Lowe recalled the moment while visiting the Rich Eisen Show during an episode that aired July 15. The radio host asked Lowe to share his favorite memory with Tom Cruise before the interview came to a close. The actor dove into a story about how he used to spar with Cruise in their younger years, and he said there was one particular boxing moment that didn’t quite end as planned.
Lowe explained that he and Cruise challenged one another to an impromptu boxing match, in spite of the fact that he had a much smaller frame than Cruise did.
“He’s so competitive that we used to box in the hallway of the hotel we were staying at during Outsiders,” he said, as he reflected on their time working on-set together as teenagers.
“So much testosterone. We’re 18-year-old guys stuck on location. So we would have headgear, and we’d have mouthpieces in, but we would legitimately spar,” Lowe told Eisen.
He quipped about his physique at the time, saying he had “pipe cleaner arms,” as opposed to Cruise, who was “jacked” and looked like a “beast.”
American actors Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Ralph Macchio, Thomas C. Howell, and Tom Cruise on the set of The Outsiders, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Lowe said he managed to land a “real clean” shot that left Cruise dazed before things took a turn.
“I rang his bell, and the next I knew, I woke up – I was coming to, on the floor,” Lowe said.
“And he, like, completely knocked me out.”
Lowe described the look on Cruise’s face when he sought his revenge. (RELATED: Floyd Mayweather, Lil Uzi Vert Sued Over Alleged Violent Interaction With Civilian)
“His eyes just went black, but that’s the stuff we did,” Lowe said.
“That’s what guys do. Like Fight Club.”
