In an interview at the New Yorker Festival (via Moore was eight months pregnant with her second child, Scout Willis, when she began rehearsing lines with Cruise and Reiner prior to production.
“I think Tom was pretty embarrassed,” Moore said. “Actually, I felt okay about it. But I was moving around, right? But I could tell he felt it was a little awkward.”
People reported: “Moore explained that she believes Cruise was potentially uncomfortable, given that few of her Hollywood colleagues at the time had children, and the pressure of having to choose between pursuing a career and becoming a mother.”
“To me, that’s one of the many things that just didn’t make sense,” Moore said of Hollywood’s prejudice against mothers. “So I challenged that to say, ‘Why not? Why can’t we have both?'” But I think at the same time, in a way, it also added a lot of pressure on myself to prove that it was possible. ”
Moore said he went “a little overboard” in this regard, adding: “I look back now and think, ‘What the hell was I thinking?'” And what exactly was I trying to prove? But it wasn’t as supported as it is today. I would block and rehearse scenes while breastfeeding. ”
After giving birth to her daughter, Moore put even more pressure on herself to get in shape for the film. “I was planning on wearing a military uniform, so I probably got too excited and started working out and getting in shape before she was born. The day my water broke, I went on a two-and-a-half hour hike. I rode my bike 44 miles and then danced at a reggae club. So she came two-and-a-half weeks early.”
Moore pointed out that mothers are now much more “supported” on Hollywood movie sets, and this is a necessary course correction for the industry. Variety has reached out to Cruise’s representatives for comment.
