Revenge of the Nerds' Curtis Armstrong Tells All: 7 Shocking Confessions From His New Memoir

Risky Business star dishes on what it was like working with Tom Cruise before he was a superstar

By Meg Swertlow Jun 27, 2017 1:24 AMTags
Curtis Armstrong, Revenge of the Nerds20th Century Fox

Okay, so you probably don't know Curtis Armstrong by name (unless, like him, you are a super nerd), but you probably know him by sight, or at least by his famous roles, Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, Herbert Viola on Moonlighting and Miles Dalby in Risky Business.

Suffice it to say, Armstrong's gotten a lot of work during his more-than-35-year career in the biz—and now he's talking. Actually, he's more than talking—he's spilling—in his upcoming memoir, Revenge of the Nerd.

In the new tell-all, the actor, who has appeared in more than 150 movies, reveals a lot of sordid details, including backstage shenanigans between Rebecca DeMornay and Tom Cruise during the magical summer of 1982 when he filmed Risky Business and was merely known as Tom Crewes.

First appearing in The Hollywood Reporter, here are 7 of Armstrong's most scandalous excerpts from the sure-to-be best-seller:

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Tom Cruise's Best Roles

1. Crewes Control:

"I recently came across a scrap of paper with the scribbled information I received during a phone call with my agent the day I was told I'd be doing Risky Business. I kept it at the time because I felt it was, in a small way, historic: First day as a film actor! As a historic document, it doesn't amount to much. It's the usual stuff: where we were shooting (Chicago), for how long (eight weeks!), what my income would be (considering I was on unemployment at the time, it was princely), the names of the screenwriter-director (Paul Brickman), the producers (Jon Avnet, Steve Tisch and David Geffen) and finally, the star—'Tom Crewes.'"

 2. Skin of His Teeth:

The first time I met him was at the production office the day I arrived in Chicago. He smiled on seeing me, giving me my first glimpse of those extraordinary chops, all white and straight and sharp and in perfect alignment, which instantly made me feel self-conscious about my own teeth. He appeared so … clean. Then he called me “Miles.” He always called me by my character’s name. At the time, I thought it was part of his process. It could be he just didn’t know my name.

3. Summer Lovin':

"In the summer of 1982, he was 19, about to turn 20, and I was 28, which made me the grand old man in that cast—which included Bronson Pinchot, Raphael Sbarge, Joe Pantoliano, Shera Danese and the beautiful, inscrutable Rebecca De Mornay. Except for Tom, we were all fairly new to film. But everyone, including Tom, was unknown to me. In any but the most superficial of respects, he remains so to this day."

Thomas Dunne Books

4. An Affair to Remember:

"If Cruise's unprecedented success was a surprise to me, the perpetual rumors regarding his sexual orientation were utterly mystifying. At least at that time, there was no question which side of that particular fence Tom stood on. It's no secret that Tom engaged in an intense affair during the shooting with De Mornay—who, at 23, managed to maintain her inaccessible, sexual mysteriousness under any circumstances, unless you could catch her in a joke, at which point her mask would drop as her eyes lit up and she would burst into a full-throated laugh."

"Their romance was some time aborning. Part of the delay was caused by the presence of Harry Dean Stanton, who was involved with Rebecca. During the hours she worked, Harry Dean—an affable man and great actor—spent his days slowly swimming the length of the hotel pool, literally for hours at a time. The man's stamina was extraordinary, which I suppose it would have had to have been if he was dating Rebecca."

5. The Good Book:

"Tom wasn't f--king around. Actually, I take that back. He was. With Rebecca inaccessible, he started cutting a wide swath through the local talent. Not that I noticed right away. He self-identified as a born-again Christian and the rumor was he had actually considered shepherding souls for a living. I could believe it. Away from the set, initially, Tom made straight arrows look like corkscrews. I would ask him at the end of the day if he would like to join us at the bar for a drink. "

"'No,' I recall him saying, 'Got an early call tomorrow. Got to work out still, study my lines. And then I like to read the Bible a little before bed.'"

"I laughed. He didn't. 'Ah,' I said, cutting off the laugh at the pass and nodding wisely. 'A little bit of the Good Book before bedtime, eh?' 'Yeah,' he said. 'Just a little at night. Keeps me on the right track, you know?'"

6. Late-Night Snacks:

"But then, returning late one night, I found three or four young girls—late teens, I suspect—lined up in the hall outside of Tom's room. I remember thinking, 'Tom's going to be really upset if these hot girls interfere with his Bible reading.' So I asked them, with all the stern gravitas of my 28 years, if there was something I could do to help them. They just stared at me, and at that moment, Tom's door opened and another girl came out, adjusting her hair and taking off down the hall, while the first girl in line slipped into Tom's room. This was a young man who knew something about time management and understood how to successfully juggle Bible study and blow jobs. I went to bed alone that night thinking it served me right for not being religious."

7. Lasting Impressions:

"I recorded my impression of him in the journal I kept during that time: Tom's an interesting character. Can't really make him out. He would appear to be on the brink of a great career. But when it comes to doing things with him—socially or professionally—he's not terribly reliable. Always late, very casual with other people's time. But in spite of it all, it's difficult not to like him. Though it's early days, the rehearsing I've done with him has gone smoothly. No arrogance or selfishness there. Yet. We'll see."

For all that and more, check out Armstrong’s book Revenge of the Nerd when it hits stores July 11.