salt movie

Salt, the latest spy thriller starring Angelina Jolie, was originally intended for Tom Cruise. But after reading the script, Tom thought that the character was too close to that of Mission Impossible's Ethan Hunt and declined.

According to mb.com.ph:

“In the original script by Kurt Wimmer, the lead character was called, at that time, Edwin A. Salt. We discussed the film with Tom Cruise, we had a table read with various actors, including Samuel L. Jackson, who kindly played one of the parts, just so we could hear the script read. After that table read, Sony Pictures decided they definitely wanted to make the film. Around that time Tom wasn’t prepared to commit to the script as it was – his main fears were that the character was too close to ‘Mission: Impossible’s’ Ethan Hunt, being a rogue spy, with extraordinary abilities,” explained Noyce.