The character was portrayed by Tom Cruise in the 1993 film adaptation of the novel, and most recently by Josh Lucas for Entertainment One Television's show also named The Firm.
That week, Grisham and Michael Crichton evenly divided the top six paperback spots on The New York Times Best Seller list.
[4] After graduating third in his Harvard Law School class,[1] he became a whistleblower to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and brought down both the firm and the crime family.
[12] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly notes that McDeere is "a brilliant, financially strapped Harvard Law School senior who dreams of working on Wall Street.
"[14] Vincent Canby of The New York Times describes the character as "a bright young man, born poor and deprived, [who] lusts for the good things in life" and notes that he "...plays each side against the other in a manner that becomes increasing mysterious..."[15] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times describes McDeere as "...a poor boy who is ashamed of his humble origins now that he has graduated from Harvard Law fifth in his class.
He is also, in many of his roles, just a little slow to catch on; his characters seem to trust people too easily, and so it's convincing when he swallows the Firm's pitches and pep talks.
The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman describes Lucas' take as "more idealistic than eager",[18] while Mike Hale of The New York Times also notes his "newfound storefront idealism".
[21] Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara opines that Lucas' "...McDeere has no edge, neither the overweening ambition of the Tom Cruise version nor the bitter weariness one might expect to rise in its place after a decade on the run.
"[22] Robert Bianco of the USA Today notes that Lucas is "...lost in a role that helped cement Tom Cruise as a movie star".