Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Lionsgate/Paramount Pictures
Prior to becoming one of the most efficient action directors in Hollywood with films such as Snitch, Shot Caller, Angel Has Fallen, Greenland, and Kandahar, filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh was a stunt performer and worked on a handful of iconic 90s movies, including the Tony Scott NASCAR film Days of Thunder alongside Tom Cruise.
Speaking to BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast ahead of the release of his newest Gerard Butler-starring film Greenland 2: Migration on Friday, January 9, Ric Roman Waugh recalled working with, and racing against, the legendary Tom Cruise on the Days of Thunder set over 30 years ago.
Former stuntman and Shot Caller director Ric Roman Waugh recalls racing against Tom Cruise on the Days of Thunder set
“In Days of Thunder, was there any inkling of what kind of revolutionary stunt performer Tom Cruise would one day be? Were you and your stunt guys on set thinking, ‘This guy’s f—— nuts, man”?” we asked Waugh.
“Yeah — I was driving for the Cary Elwes character, and Tom would drive a lot of the time too. I remember Tony Scott watching us. We’d go out onto the racetrack, and when we were on the other side — and people forget, if you’re going 200 miles an hour, that side of the track is a mile away — I’d start bumping Tom’s car from behind. He’d be laughing and we’d have fun down the back straight, then we’d come around and do the scene,” Waugh explained.
“And I remember somebody must’ve told on us, because when we came into the pits, Tony came over and goes, ‘Are you hitting his car on the other side there?’ I go, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ And Tom went like this, like, ‘I’m not saying anything either,'” he continued.
“You just knew he was a great guy. Tom’s always been one of those guys who’s fearless — and the way he is in everyday life, with motorcycles and everything else. I think he better slow down at some point, but it’s not a surprise how far he likes to take it. And I think he understands that because of him, we’re getting away from this by-the-numbers, cookie-cutter comic book stuff where you don’t really feel like action is real anymore. I grew up doing Lethal Weapon and Days of Thunder. We were driving at 200 miles an hour. We weren’t faking it. We were doing the real thing.”
Back in November 2024, in fact, it was reported that Cruise was developing a Days of Thunder sequel in addition to a third Top Gun movie. Given the success of Joseph Kosinski’s F1 last summer, the possibility of a Days of Thunder sequel has likely only increased.
As for Waugh, his latest film Greenland 2: Migration — which stars Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roman Griffin Davis, Amber Rose Revah, Gordon Alexander, Peter Polycarpou, William Abadie, and Tommie Earl Jenkins — will be released in movie theaters on Friday, January 9.
You can check out our full interview with Waugh — where we discuss the Greenland franchise, his partnership with Gerard Butler, break down his movie Shot Caller, remember the late, great, Tony Scott, and reminiscence about his stunt work on iconic 90s films such as Hook, The Last of the Mohicans, and Days of Thunder — below.