Kevin Pollak Says Tom Cruise Punched Jack Nicholson on the "A Few Good Men" Set

Kevin Pollak just shared a story that makes one of cinema’s most famous scenes even better. On the“Still Here Hollywood”podcast, the veteran actor revealed that while filming the courtroom climax of“A Few Good Men,”Jack Nicholson made ridiculous clown faces at Tom Cruise from beside the camera. Cruise stayed in character the whole time, finished the take, then punched Nicholson in the shoulder. The two laughed it off. It’s the kind of detail that turns a legendary scene into a legend about the people behind it.

Pollak also talked about working with the late director Rob Reiner, whose guiding rule on set was simple: if we’re not having fun, there’s no point in any of this. That philosophy clearly worked. The 1992 film, written by Aaron Sorkin, earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and its“you can’t handle the truth”exchange remains one of the most quoted moments in movie history.

More than thirty years later,“A Few Good Men”is still giving us stories. This one just happens to include clown faces, a shoulder punch, and two of the biggest stars in Hollywood laughing about it afterward. What’s your favorite behind-the-scenes movie story of all time? Tell us in the comments.