1988 Western Movie That Was ‘More Historically Accurate Than Most’ Featured a Secret Cameo From Tom Cruise

If you’re looking for another Western to check out while you wait for Marshals Season 2, the 1988 classic Young Guns is a must. At a time when the genre didn’t hold too much weight in historical accuracy, this movie broke the mold.

Collider just ranked Young Guns at No. 8 on its list of “Most Fun Westerns of All Time,” but that’s not the only reason this classic stands out. It has a secret cameo that arguably opened the door for a second one to happen just two years later in Young Guns II.

You may have heard that Taylor Sheridan made sure that the cast of 1923 knew how to play real cowboys by sending everyone to Cowboy Boot Camp, and he hasn’t been the only creator to do that. The entire cast of Young Guns, including Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, and Lou Diamond Phillips, went to Cowboy Boot Camp for two weeks. This wasn’t just a chance to learn how to quick-draw a gun or ride a horse, but it was a chance to get to know each other to make their outlaw chemistry feel real.

However, there were two people in the movie who weren’t at the bootcamp, and you likely missed them across the two movies in the franchise. Both Tom Cruise and Jon Bon Jovi have secret roles.

Cruise’s came from his friendship with Estevez. While visiting the set, he asked if he could be in the movie. Considering his star power in the 1980s thanks to the likes of Top Gun, it was a no-brainer, but he was put in heavy makeup, wigs, and a mustache to avoid being recognized. If you skip to the shootout at Alex McSween’s house, you’ll just about spot him.

This arguably opened the door for a cameo to happen in the sequel. When making Young Guns II, Estevez asked Bon Jovi if they could use the iconic track “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and Bon Jovi went one step further. He created an entire original album for the 1990 sequel, which would become “Blaze of Glory,” and landed an uncredited cameo as a prisoner who is shot. Like Cruise’s, it’s a blink-and-you-miss-it moment.

Young Guns is more than just a fun Western, though. It is one of the most historically accurate movies of the time period. It tells the story of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, which is often dramatized to add more action. However, Western historian Dr. Paul Andrew Hutton described it as one of the “most historically accurate of all prior Billy the Kid films.”

If you’re in the mood for fun, you can stream Young Guns on Philo and AMC+.