Jake Johnson had to get a just a little bit swoll for The Mummy, the newest movie where Tom Cruise does a lot of glamorous running. But the New Girl star didn’t just have to work out, he got to work out with Tom Cruise. Sure, the Rock’s workout might be the most covetable and curious in Hollywood, but in an interview with Thrillist, Johnson gives us a peek into Cruise’s very intense regimen. Before they started shooting their Mummy remake, Cruise took an interest in Johnson’s personal fitness. Johnson cutely calls it “anti-Hollywood,†but what’s more Hollywood than Tom Cruise giving you access to — nay, insisting — that you use his coterie of personal trainers and chefs?
Here’s a story that is very anti-Hollywood, but very Tom. He wanted me to work out with him and get in shape for the movie. People have told me in the past, including New Girl, that I need to lose weight and stay in shape. But they don’t tell me how. It’s like, “Hey tubbo, fit into these slacks!†Tom said, “I really want you fit for this movie.†I literally thought I was going to have to call Max Greenfield to do Crossfit. But Tom said, “You’ll be training with me and my trainers. If you want I’ll put you on a food plan with my chef. The food is great.†And the food was great.
Cruise quickly became Johnson’s workout buddy, a job he approached with the same level of dedication as he does most of his stunts.
He [also] said I could use his gym whenever I wanted. One day I got to work to work out and one of the [assistant directors] goes, “You can’t go in right now because Tom is working out.†I thought, “That sucks, I got here an hour early to get this in, but he’s Tom Cruise.†After, when we were shooting later that day, he said, “What happened to you? I thought you said you were going to work out this morning?†I told him I was told not to bother him and he got really pissed. He said, “Let me make something crystal clear: I don’t care what anybody on the crew says to you, they don’t know what I’m saying to you. And I’m saying to you that you are always welcome. I don’t care what I’m doing in there. You’re not other. You’re my castmate. Come in.†He’s the best.
A trainer makes you run drills. Workout buddy Tom Cruise invests in your physical fitness because, you know, friendship.