Rob Lowe Claims Competitive Tom Cruise Knocked Him Out While Filming The Outsiders

Rob Lowe recalled duking it out with his pal and former co-star Tom Cruise when they were just teens on the set of the 1983 film The Outsiders.

During Mondays episode of The Rich Eisen Show , the actor, 60, took a stroll down memory lane after host Eisen asked him to recall a story about working with the action star. 

Hes so competitive that we used to box in the hallway of the hotel we were staying during Outsiders, Lowe recalled of Cruise. So much testosterone. Were 18-year-old guys stuck on location. So we would wear headgear and wed have mouthpieces in, but we would legitimately spar.

In the coming-of-age film, Lowe played compassionate teen Sodapop Curtis while Cruse, now 62, starred as cocky car lover Steve Randle. 

Lowe said he wasnt working out at the time and had pipe cleaner arms and that Cruise was jacked in comparison.

Tom is like, this beast, he said. But I hit him real clean and I rang his bell. And the next thing I knew, I woke up and I was coming to on the floor. Hed, like, completely knocked me out. 

As for what led the Mission Impossible star to TKO Lowe, the Parks and Recreation actor said it was because he had hit him hard, like his eyes just went black.

But thats the stuff we did, thats what guys do, its like Fight Club, he teased. 

The Outsiders film, based on S. E. Hintons 1967 novel, also starred Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez and C. Thomas Howell. 

In a 2020 interview on the A rmchair Expert With Dax Shepard podcast, the West Wing star shared another story about Cruises fiery spirit off-set.

According to Lowe, Cruise had flipped out when he learned that the two actors were sharing a room at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.

First time I ever stayed at The Plaza Hotel. We check in and Tom finds out that were sharing a room, and just goes ballistic, Lowe began his story. 

To me, whats great about the story is: Theres certain people who have always been who they are, and that element of them has powered them to where they are today, and the rest is history, he continued. And the notion that an 18-year-old actor with a walk-on part in Endless Love, and like, a seventh lead in Taps, could have that kind of, like, wherewithal? I remember going, Wow, this guy is the real deal.

Lowe said the moment was gnarly but made him laugh. 

But at the end, you cant argue with the results. Hes had his eye on the ball since day one, he added.

Watch a clip from Lowes interview on The Rich Eisen Show below.