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Jonathan Lipnicki is opening up about how he got the role of Ray Boyd in 1996's Jerry Maguire
Lipnicki was just six years old when he played Ray Boyd, the son of Renée Zellweger's Dorothy and, later, Tom Cruise's title character
It was Cruise, Lipnicki suggested, who helped ensure he got the role
Jonathan Lipnickiis opening up about his casting in 1996'sJerry Maguire— a role that made him famous and nearly didn't come to fruition.
Speaking on the Monday, Feb. 23 episode ofPod Meets World,35-year-old Lipnicki spoke about his audition for the film, in which he played Ray Boyd, the son ofRenée Zellweger's Dorothyand, later,Tom Cruise's title character.
It was Cruise, Lipnicki suggested, who helped ensure he got the role.
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Lipnicki said he had been working as an actor for "probably six months" when, at six years old, he auditioned for the movie.
"I auditioned forJerry Maguire, and I didn't get it. They went with another kid. They shot two weeks with him," he recounted.
Lipnicki continued: "And they wouldn't see me when they were recasting it, because I was on a list of people who'd already been seen. But I had been seen by an associate, not the casting director."
"And I had an agent at the time, wonderful guy, and he was the head of the children's talent division at this agency," he added. "And he said, 'Don't see any of my other kids. I stake my reputation in the industry on this. I have Ray Boyd sitting in my chair right now. Please see him.' "
That's when Lipnicki was seen by the film's casting director.
"I was seen by the casting director, and they're like, 'How would you like to fly out to Arizona tomorrow and meet Tom Cruise and read for him and Cameron Crowe?' And I went to Arizona where they're doing the football scenes. Read for Tom and Cameron. My parents were there, of course. In, Tom's trailer, we had really good chemistry, and he's like, 'You know, I think my decision here is clear. I'll leave it up to Cameron.' And that was it."
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Elsewhere in the interview, Lipnicki recounted how "excited" his parents were for him to audition for the role, saying, "My mom was always really careful with me because they got very excited about the whole idea of ... auditioning with the guy who was inTop Gun. You know, I was very excited about that."
"She always told me, 'A lot of little boys are going out for this. I don't want you to be discouraged if you don't get it.,'" he recounted. "And then when I originally didn't get it, she was like, 'Honey, I have some bad news. You didn't get it.' And I told her, 'No. That's my role.'"
When he finally did get it, Lipnicki added, the family's lives changed.
"And I think it just it kinda blew their mind, though, because it was like, all of a sudden, we're flying to Arizona. And, you know, my dad had taken me to that audition. He's like, 'Well, Rhonda, what are you doing later?' She's like, 'I don't know. Laundry.' And he's like, 'Or, we're flying to Arizona to meet Tom Cruise.' "
The actor would go on to star in 1999'sStuart Little, in which his movie parents were played byGeena Davisand Hugh Laurie.
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Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview last year, Lipnicki opened up aboutmaking the jump from child acting to adult acting.
"I had some really good things that happened when I was younger," the actor told PEOPLE at the time. "It's totally fine to say I'm not where I want to be career-wise."
he added: "This is the thing I want to do for the rest of my life, and I think you just have to believe it's going to happen and do everything in your power to take action in the right direction."
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