Tom Cruise chosen to play Manchester United legend Bryan Robson

Bryan Robson selected Tom Cruise

With a nickname like ‘Captain Marvel’, it seems only right that for a film about Bryan Robson’s life, Hollywood’s highest paid actor, Tom Cruise, should take the leading role – or at least that’s what the player himself thinks.

Robbo selected the star of such films as Top Gun, Jerry Maguire and Minority Report as the man to play him should a film about the former Manchester United midfielder’s life ever be made. One would imagine Cruise’s experience in filming the Mission Impossible series would likely come in handy for the scenes in which Robson saved West Brom from Premier League relegation in 2005.

The question was put to Robson as part of a series of interviews for Yahoo!’s The Dugout, and there were some revealing answers among the managers asked.

That Manchester City’s debonair manager Roberto Mancini selected any actor to have played MI6 agent James Bond seems rather fitting – although what 007 would make of the Italian’s blue and white scarf is debatable.

Mick McCarthy selected Brad Pitt

The actor who proved most popular among the managers was Goodfellas star Robert De Niro. He was the choice of Alan Pardew, Kevin Keegan, Martin Jol, Steve Coppell and, er, Glenn Roeder.

The next two most popular choices were Clint Eastwood (Avram Grant, Roy Evans and Paul Lambert) and George Clooney (David O’Leary, Neil Warnock and Owen Coyle).

Meanwhile, Everton manager David Moyes went for the Scottish connection in selecting Sean Connery, while Gordon Strachan went for the short connection in Dustin Hoffman. What connection Mick McCarthy was thinking of when he selected Brad Pitt is anyone’s guess.

Which actor do you think should play football’s leading managers? Let us know your thoughts below.

Follow Simon Rice on Twitter @simonrice

Football managers’ Hollywood heroes…

Robert De Niro – Alan Pardew, Glenn Roeder,    Kevin Keegan, Martin Jol, Steve Coppell

Clint Eastwood - Avram Grant, Roy Evans, Paul Lambert

George Clooney – David O’Leary, Neil Warnock, Owen Coyle

Al Pacino – Rafa Benitez, Brian Laws

Brad Pitt – Glenn Hoddle, Mick McCarthy

Robert Redford – Steve McClaren, Ray Wilkins

David Carruso – Alex McLeish

Liam Neeson – Brendan Rodgers

Tom Cruise – Bryan Robson

Charlie Sheen – Dave Bassett

Sean Connery - David Moyes

Nicholas Cage – Gary McAllister

Harrison Ford - Gerard Houllier

Dustin Hoffman – Gordon Strachan

James Bond - Roberto Mancini

Antonio Banderas - Roberto Martinez

Daniel Day Lewis – Roy Keane

Denzel Washington – Ruud Gullit

David Bellamy – Steve Bruce

Steve McQueen – Tony Adams

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• http://www.facebook.com/TheAuror Satyan Israni

  who did sir alex ferguson choose?

• agneau

  Dunno, but Sir Laurence Olivier chose him.

• leigh_vernier7

  Disappointed in Robbo’s choice.
  Does he not realize Cruise is a religious bigot,
  denies evolution and rubbishes all psyoanalysts
  and therapists.
  On a personal basis I ’see’ Cruise as writhingly ugly
  and Robbo as boyishly, artlessly handsome.
  No.
  Cruise ought to play Roy Keane, planning another
  leg breaking tackle.

• Martin_Kinsella

  What a crap article. Just a cheap way of getting clicks. I expected an article about an upcoming movie not this meaningless web filling guff.

• Rob Roy

  Ah, but how fast can Tom Cruise sink a pint? And how many in a session?

• dalai guevara

  Yawn. And Usain Bolt fielding for United? How much more nonsense do the public need to take, given that the shares are evidently not selling like hot cakes?

  $7 in 90 days time.

• http://www.squidoo.com/white-diamonds2 expensive diamonds

  Yeah….. like that’s ever going to happen.

• Crain6

  This article is complete and utter garbage. It has certainly supported the argument that footballers are thick.

• Humble

  Goodness gracious ! Don’t take me wrong, I do like Tom Cruise. The thing is: giving main roles to just the same actors/actresses is a very silly thing to do. One keeps watching the same mannerisms, facial expressions, body language…voice…etc. And that brings you back to the actor/actresses in all the films they’ve played.
  Give new talent a chance ! Let them have a go too. This way, money won’t stay with the same…Share it around for a change !
  Less silly super rich who have no idea what to do with money…

• Mantana

  Pathetic article and cynical headline. Try treating your readers with respect rather than like crteins or see your readership dwindle further.