Rob Lowe opens up about being ‘knocked out' by 'beast’ Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is well known for his athletic prowess, whether that's through undertaking his own stunts or his extensive exercise routine. But according to Rob Lowe , the Mission Impossible star has always been like this - even when they were starring together in 80s cult classic The Outsiders .

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Rob revealed that he and Tom "would workout and jog, like running bros" together - they even sparred with each other, which at one point went a step too far. The Parks and Recreation star compared his "pipe cleaner arms" at the time with the "jacked" action star who even then was like a "beast".

"He’s so competitive that we used to box in the hallway of the hotel we were staying at during Outsiders ," he said. "So much testosterone. We’re 18-year-old guys stuck on location. So we would have headgear, and we’d have mouthpieces in, but we would legitimately spar."

One time when they were fighting, Rob managed to "hit him real clean", and "rang his bell" - but it wasn't quite enough against the "beast" Tom Cruise.

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"The next thing I knew, I woke up — I was coming to, on the floor," Rob said in the interview with Rich Eisen. "And he, like, completely knocked me out."

He added: "His eyes just went black, but that’s the stuff we did. That’s what guys do. Like Fight Club."

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But it seems that Rob has no hard feelings towards the 62-year-old star, whom he referred to as "Tommy". He said of the actor: "I love him so much he's the best."

According to the St. Elmo's Fire star, Tom was "living at Emilio [Estevez]’s house, auditioning right after Taps ," adding: "by the way, Taps is a great movie."

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He previously said that his experience working with Tom on The Outsiders proved that he was "the real deal", saying: "Tom was ambitious, never met anybody more ambitious, and I am ambitious."

But the actor certainly had a reaction to finding out he would be sharing a room with Rob at The Plaza.

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"It was the first time I ever stayed at The Plaza Hotel, and we check-in and Tom finds out that we’re sharing a room and just goes ballistic," Lowe said while laughing. "I mean it made me laugh, it was gnarly. But in the end, you can't argue with the results. He’s had his eye on the ball since day one."

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