The 1983 film still holds its own after 40 years and is well worth a view if you haven’t seen it. Among the many angles for interpreting the film is Paul Carafotes, who plays Vinnie “The Vooch” Salvucci. In my book, he’s the film’s most memorable character.
The film’s cast (photo courtesy of Paul Carafotes)
In the film, Director Michael Chapman expertly captures the despair of a dying western Pennsylvania factory town. Tom Cruise, the film’s lead, is compelling as Stefan “Stef” Djordjevic, a high school athlete who desperately wants to trade football for a college education. The supporting cast, Lea Thompson, Chris Penn, and Craig T. Nelson, is strong as well.
But to me, the film’s standout is Paul Carafotes, who plays Stef’s teammate, Vinnie “The Vooch” Salvucci.
Unlike Stef, “The Vooch” isn’t a star, and he’s probably not going to college – or anywhere for that matter. But audiences root like hell for him in every frame, thanks in large part to Carafotes’ powerful performance. When “The Vooch” breaks down in the post-game locker room, he’s shedding tears for the entire town … country.
There’s a story about how Carafotes got the part. After nailing his audition, Carafotes believed he’d play “Stef,” and Chapman told him as much. “I thought I was going to get it,” explains Carafotes now. “But I didn’t.” The studio wanted “a name,” and Cruise was coming off Risky Business. So, Carafotes was out.
Then, a few weeks later, Carafotes got a reprieve. His agent called and asked him to sit down. “They loved you so much; they’ve written a role for you,” the agent told Carafotes. Carafotes was in as “The Vooch.”
From “All the Right Moves” (photo courtesy Paul Carafotes)
But Cruise, according to Carafotes, wanted no part of him, arguing that “The Vooch” wasn’t in the original script and wasn’t needed. After some tense moments, Cruise eventually came around, and the two actors developed an unbreakable bond, well, at least on screen.
In the aforementioned locker room scene, Cruise and Carafotes lock arms in one of the film’s most poignant moments. However, it wasn’t all touchy-feely moments on set. During a “practice” scene, Cruise and Carafotes collided, and both were taken to the ER. Fortunately, both actors were OK.
Meanwhile, Chapman was digging Carafotes’ performance. “They (the film production) kept giving me more and more to do,” he recalls. And even after the film wrapped, Chapman felt like he needed more “Vooch.” He even requested additional shoot days for his storyline, but the studio rebuffed him. Carafotes was told, “This is a Tom Cruise movie, not a Paul Carafotes movie.”
As far as his bond with Cruise, well, Carafotes said he saw him just once more after a cast screening and meal – at a Sunset Boulevard traffic stoplight. Cruise was on his motorcycle. Carafotes was in his Alfa Romeo, top down, “Hey Vooch!” Cruise said, probably smiling. Immediately, plans were hatched to break bread at Martoni’s, one of Carafotes’ haunts. Perhaps their on-screen wasn’t just movie magic.
But Cruise never showed.
“I don’t know if he got lost,” says Carafotes. However, it was somewhat fitting that the actor who played Vinnie “The Vooch” Salvucci, who was somewhat of a lone wolf, would dine alone.
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Jon Hart is the author of Party School.
Great story!! I enjoyed it a lot.