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Tom Cruise brings the ‘Thunder,’ co-stars say

‘He is the surprise of the summer,’ says co-star Jack Black

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  'Tropic Thunder': Aug. 13
Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. star in this story of a group of frustrated actors who set out to make the most expensive war film ever.

Buena Vista Pictures

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Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and the rest of the "Harry Potter" cast hit the red carpet in New York where they talk about the success of the franchise.

Access Hollywood
updated 9:40 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2008

It’s been over two decades since Tom Cruise strutted his stuff as Joel Goodsen in “Risky Business,” but apparently he hasn’t lost any of his ability to churn out fancy footwork on film.

“He’s a very good, excellent dancer,” “Tropic Thunder” co-star Robert Downey Jr. told “Access Hollywood’s” Nancy O’Dell of Cruise’s performance.

In the film, Cruise plays a heavy-set, balding, computer geek who financially backs a big budget Vietnam war action movie.

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During his brief cameo, the actor struts his stuff at a party for the stars. And Cruise’s latest movie moves have been described by many, including Cruise’s co-stars, as scene stealing.

“The fact that he came in and (in) six days of shooting made that kind of impact? I’d say per hour, he was the big winner in ‘Tropic Thunder,’” Downey Jr. said. “I’ll tip my hat to Tom.”

And Downey Jr. wasn’t the only “Tropic Thunder” co-star commending Cruise’s moves. Funnyman Jack Black said moviegoers will be thrilled by Cruise’s hip-hop shimmy.

“People are gonna be shocked because they’ve not seen him do comedy before,” Black said.

In fact, Black said one reason Cruise’s part as an unnamed studio executive is so funny is because of the work the actor put in before filming.

“You know why he was so good? ’Cause he trained for it,” Black said. “He researched it just like he does all his dramas and his other film roles. He brought the same scientific intensity… He is the surprise of the summer.”

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