’24’ Star Wants Tom Cruise to Ditch Stunts for Romance with Her

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A Mary Lynn Rajskub and Tom Cruise rom-com probably would not look anything like the action-packed movies fans have come to expect from the Hollywood superstar. Rajskub has an entirely different vision: no death-defying stunts, no elaborate action sequences and apparently plenty of doing the dishes together.

The “24” alum joked that she wants to reunite with Cruise for what she described as his first “anti-stunt movie,” more than two decades after they worked together on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia.” And if Rajskub gets her way, their next collaboration would be considerably more romantic.

Mary Lynn Rajskub Wants a Very Different Tom Cruise Movie

Rajskub shared her unexpected movie pitch during an interview with Us Weekly while filming an episode of “Celebrity Weakest Link.” “I would love to do another project with Tom Cruise — one where we don’t do our own stunts together,” she joked.

The 55-year-old actress already seems to have the concept figured out. “I want to be in Tom Cruise’s first anti-stunt movie where we just hang out and hold hands and look into each other’s eyes,” Rajskub said, arguing that audiences are overdue for another Cruise rom-com.

Her version of romance becomes even less traditionally cinematic from there. Rajskub imagined herself playing what she jokingly called Cruise’s first love interest who was his own age and a “regular looking lady.” “It’s super sexy because we’re buddies and we do the dishes together,” she joked. “That’s true romance.”

Rajskub was clearly having fun with the idea rather than announcing an actual project. Still, the pitch creates a funny contrast with the image Cruise has built through movies such as the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, where performing ambitious stunts became almost as closely associated with him as acting.

EntertainmentNow has also followed the continued fascination with Cruise’s romantic life, including speculation surrounding his relationships with other Hollywood stars in recent years.

Rajskub and Cruise Already Have Some “Magnolia” History

A romance between the two actors would not technically be their first time getting close on camera. Rajskub worked with Cruise on Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 ensemble drama “Magnolia,” in which Cruise played aggressive motivational speaker Frank T.J. Mackey.

There was just one problem: the scene they filmed together never made it into the finished movie.

A home-video release of “Magnolia” later included a deleted Frank T.J. Mackey seminar sequence featuring both actors. Rajskub herself has been considerably less restrained when remembering what happened during filming.

Her official website describes the experience as making out with Cruise for about 45 minutes on a couch, only for the scene to end up on the cutting-room floor. That history makes her new pitch even funnier as 27 years after their filmed encounter disappeared from the finished movie, Rajskub is ready for another shot.

Mary Lynn Rajskub Faced a Different Challenge on “Celebrity Weakest Link”

Rajskub made the comments while filming a competition that required a very different kind of nerve. She appears on the Nov. 2 “Ladies Who Laugh” episode of Fox’s “Celebrity Weakest Link” alongside Nicole Byer, Heather McMahan, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sasheer Zamata, Zarna Garg, Judy Gold and Ms. Pat.

Fox lists Jane Lynch as the host of the episode, which airs at 9:01 p.m. ET/PT. Rajskub admitted she walked into the game without doing much preparation. “I did no research on the Weakest Link at all,” she told Us Weekly, adding that she was nervous before discovering how much fun the experience could be.

She described the competition as an unusual mixture of pressure and silliness, with contestants never knowing whether the next question would be easy or unexpectedly difficult. The actress was especially enthusiastic about getting to spend time with the other comedians competing in the episode and said the experience could even lead to new friendships.

EntertainmentNow previously noted that the “Ladies Who Laugh” episode was scheduled for Nov. 2 after “Celebrity Weakest Link” was preempted by Fox’s World Series coverage on Oct. 26. Whether Rajskub ever gets her Tom Cruise romance movie request remains another question entirely.

But after their first big-screen encounter was left on the cutting-room floor, a movie built around holding hands, eye contact and doing dishes might finally give the pair enough screen time to finish what “Magnolia” started.