“She goes, ‘You go over there and say hello to him,’ and I was like, ‘I’m not going to say hello,’” Cruise said, recounting how out of character this push from his sister was. “I don’t walk up to people, but she was so pushy.” When he resisted, she gave him a bold ultimatum: “If you don’t do it, I’m just going to go over there and tell him who you are.”

Not wanting to be embarrassed, Cruise reluctantly approached the actor. “I said, ‘Excuse me, Mr Hoffman, I’m sorry…’ And he went, ‘Cruise!’” Hoffman not only recognised him but invited both Cruise and Cass to see Death of a Salesman and visit him backstage. “As I was leaving, he said, ‘I want to make a movie with you,’” Cruise said. “And I said, ‘That would be nice, sir.’ A year later, he sent Rain Man.”