Rewind the clock to 1994, and the names Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
Both had enjoyed success with their respective breakout films, Thelma & Louise and Risky Business, but their names were finally in lights together co-starring in Interview with the Vampire.
The double act prompted critics to rightly predict that the new A-list had arrived.
WATCH NOW: Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt star in Interview with a Vampire. Article continues after video.
With their matching upbringings in rural Missouri and similar trajectory to fame, many expected Brad and Tom’s days on set of the Anne Rice adaptation would start a lifelong friendship.
But it soon became clear that would never be the case.
“He bugged me,” Brad complained at the time.
“There came a point in filming that I really started resenting him. He’s North Pole, I’m South.”
Things didn’t improve as time went on, especially given the two men faced off with similar WWII dramas Valkyrie and Inglourious Basterds released in successive years.
Their apocalyptic dramas War of the Worlds and World War Z, are also compared all too often for their liking, despite the films being released almost a decade apart.
“Over the years, they have steered clear of each other,” reveals an insider.
“A lot of people don’t realise this, but Brad and Tom competed for so many roles; it was actually ridiculous. Their rivalry is one of the industry’s best-kept secrets.”
Now the competition between the stars is revving up once more.
According to Hollywood insiders, Tom, 60, isn’t too happy that Brad, 59, is starring in a new race car film.
In the untitled movie, currently in production and being backed by racing champion Lewis Hamilton, Brad plays a F1 driver who comes out of retirement to compete alongside a rookie.
He will reportedly film scenes in a modified F2 or F3 during the British Grand Prix, when no sessions are taking place on the track.
“I can imagine Tom’s nose might be a bit out of joint over this,” says one insider.
“Brad is kind of stepping on his turf a little.”
Indeed, Tom is famous in Hollywood for doing his own dangerous stunts.
Some of his recent ones include riding a motorbike off a cliff and parachuting into the gully below, to clinging onto a plane for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
What’s more, Brad’s F1 movie is being directed by Joseph Kosinski, the man behind Tom’s mega-hit sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.
“No doubt that has ruffled a few feathers too,” quips the insider.
News of this latest showdown comes shortly after Brad’s best mate, Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist Flea, reignited the pair’s feud on Twitter.
One journalist speculated that Tom might be “the greatest actor ever” to which Flea replied, “All due respect, but you are straight tripping.”
Another source adds, “Brad confides a lot in Flea, and most of his friends are only too aware of Brad’s feelings about Tom. That’s why you’ll find his closest people, including Jennifer Aniston, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ellen DeGeneres giving Tom a wide berth.”
