Tom Cruise’s 7 Closest Hollywood Friends (And 6 Celebs He Avoids)

There are many different sides to Tom Cruise and it's unclear if anyone knows who he truly is. He has made some good friends and a few enemies.

  • Tom Cruise has a polarizing reputation in Hollywood due to his support of Scientology and controversial opinions, but he also has a tight circle of friends.
  • Cruise's closest friends include David Beckham and Jerry Seinfeld, with whom he has had strong bonds and long-lasting friendships.
  • On the other hand, Cruise has feuded with individuals like Brad Pitt, and he has a contentious relationship with Leah Remini due to her criticism of Scientology and him personally.

There are many sides to Tom Cruise . He's one of the highest-grossing actors of all time and has starred in a string of classic movies, such as Top Gun, A Few Good Men and Jerry Maguire. He is also known for his role as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

However, Cruise is one of the most polarizing celebs in Hollywood. He has been vocal about his support of Scientology, and he sometimes shares controversial opinions. Cruise has a tight circle of friends, but he is always looking to expose more people to his world. At the same time, he has a few enemies that he's feuded with over the years. It's time to take a closer look at Cruise's buddies and rivals.

Tom Cruise Bugatti

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Updated on October 2nd, 2023 by Abigail Thomas: Tom Cruise has continued to be a very polarizing actor. While some recent co-workers, like Miles Teller, have nothing but positive things to say about Cruise, others want nothing to do with the Top Gun: Maverick star. Rumors have also circulated that Cruise has stepped away from Scientology , which is surprising considering his previous commitment to the religion.

13 Tom Cruise Is Friends With Soccer Star David Beckham

David Beckham at the League Cup

The iconic soccer player David Beckham can genuinely do it all. He's a talented athlete and world-famous celeb, and he is hugely popular among both his fans and other celebrities. Beckham and Tom Cruise are good friends with a tight bond. They've often gone on late-night motorcycles rides together through the streets of Los Angeles. Cruise even attempted to convince Beckham to join Scientology. However, David and Victoria Beckham decided that it wasn't a good fit for them. Regardless, Beckham and Cruise remain the best of friends.

12 Brad Pitt And Tom Cruise Are Top-Tier Frenemies

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt on the red carpet

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are natural enemies. Cruise dominated the 80s, while Pitt was the man of the 90s. Regardless, rumors suggest these two megastars have been secretly feuding for over 25 years .

These Tom Cruise Movies Have Grossed Over $100 Million At The Box Office

These Tom Cruise Movies Have Grossed Over $100 Million At The Box Office

Reportedly, the feud started when they worked together on the 1994 horror film Interview with a Vampire. Pitt admitted to feeling "miserable" during filming. He also found Cruise to be a bit annoying. There's a great deal of professional jealously and competition between them, as their films sometimes go head-to-head in the theaters. They both enjoy gloating when their movie wins at the box office.

11 Tom Cruise Has A Close Friendship With Fellow Actor Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller looking unsure

Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise have a very close friendship and have been friends for years. At one point, Stiller and his then-wife Christine Taylor would go on family outings with Cruise and his then-wife Katie Holmes . Stiller and Cruise remain friends even after all these years, and they've supported each other through difficult times. Cruise also made a surprise appearance in Stiller's film Tropic Thunder. Cruise and Stiller's friendship is tight and unbreakable, which is rare in Hollywood.

Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder

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10 tom cruise tries to avoid brooke shields.

Brooke Shields smiling outside

Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise had a very public feud that they eventually put behind them. Regardless, Cruise avoids running into Shields when he can. In 2005, Cruise criticized Shields for going on anti-depressants to help with her postpartum depression . Shields didn't back down and responded with some harsh words towards Cruise. They continued to feud for several months until Cruise apologized privately. Shields called the apology "heartfelt" and accepted it. Later, Shields attended Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding.

9 Simon Pegg And Tom Cruise Have An Interesting Friendship

Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg on the red carpet

Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise's friendship is like no other in Hollywood. Of course, they appear to have nothing in common. Tom Cruise is predominantly an action star, while Pegg gained fame for his roles in several comedy movies. But Cruise and Pegg became close friends while working on the Mission: Impossible films. Cruise is the star of each film, but Pegg is prominent in the series and feels that the media misunderstands his good friend.

8 Tom Cruise Does Not Think Highly Of Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber walking through a parking lot

Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise have one of the strangest feuds in Hollywood, and the dispute's pretty one-sided. In 2019, Bieber sent out a tweet challenging Cruise to a fight in the Octagon. Bieber's sudden feud with Cruise seemed to come out of nowhere.

There was never any confrontation or behind -the-scenes drama. Bieber mocked Cruise and was confident that any company would want to sponsor the fight. Of course, Cruise ignored Bieber, and the feud died down. Later, Bieber claimed it was a prank, although he re-issued the challenge in 2020.

7 Tom Cruise Has Been Friends With Dakota Fanning For Most Of Her Life

Dakota Fanning on the red carpet

In 2005, Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning starred in the sci-fi film War of the Worlds. At the time, Fanning was a child actor that was on the rise in Hollywood. Cruise and Fanning formed a tight friendship that continues to this day. Since Fanning's 11th birthday, Cruise has sent her a gift every year. Fanning admits that he usually sends her a new pair of shoes, but she is amazed he continues the tradition.

6 John Travolta And Tom Cruise Have A Rocky History

John Travolta looking unsure

Tom Cruise and John Travolta have been both friends and enemies. They're two of Scientology's most famous celebs, however rumors suggest that Travolta and Cruise are bitter enemies . Former Scientology members claim Travolta and Cruise have been battling for the top spot in the church.

Travolta is jealous of Cruise being the church's favorite. According to sources, Travolta was furious when Cruise won the Freedom Medal of Valor . Travolta feels that he should be getting the same level of recognition as Cruise.

5 Comedian And Actor Jerry Seinfeld Is Friends With Tom Cruise

Jerry Seinfeld looking defensive

Iconic comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Cruise have been good friends for years and they have a lot in common. They're both two of the wealthiest and most famous Hollywood stars. Seinfeld also admitted that he had some brief interest in Scientology in the 70s. The two Hollywood megastars have hung out in New York and Los Angeles. They're so close that they've even spent time with each other's families. Of course, they also make sure they have a lot of bro time, just the two of them.

Larry David And Jerry Seinfeld friendship

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4 why does tom cruise have a feud with leah remini.

Leah Remini at Second Act New York Premiere

Leah Remini was once a proud member of The Church of Scientology but is now an outspoken critic. She wrote a book and produced a series based on her experiences. Of course, Remini singled out several members, most notably Tom Cruise. She claims that Cruise is the most powerful member of the church and is fully aware of the abuses, though Cruise and the church deny all of Remini's claims.

Regardless, their feud continues to intensify. Remini even encouraged Katie Holmes to come forward and expose Cruise. It's safe to assume that Cruise and Remini won't be going out to dinner anytime soon.

3 Miles Teller Loves His 'Top Gun: Maverick' Co-Star Tom Cruise

Miles Teller mustache

Top Gun fans were over the moon when they learned that a sequel was finally in the works. The film of course starred Tom Cruise, and it also brought in actor Miles Teller. Though Teller had to be convinced by Cruise to join the film, Teller adored working with Cruise and has nothing but praise to say about the actor .

"I've said when I've been talking about Tom's performance in this film," Teller said of Cruise to Associated Press . "We give actors so much credit in movies for performing skills, for playing instruments or singing or gaining weight and losing weight. And the skills that Tom is putting on display in Top Gun and so many of his movies, that's a product of thousands of hours practice."

2 Tom Cruise Makes Shakira Uncomfortable

The Truth About Tom Cruise And Shakira's Relationship And If They Really Ever Dated

Tom Cruise and Shakira made headlines in May 2023 when they both attended the F1 Grand Prix in Miami, Florida. They were pictured spending time together, and it was clear that Cruise was mesmerized by the singer.

The feeling was sadly not mutual. Though Cruise spoke with his friends about the connection they had , Shakira did not feel a connection. Cruise reportedly sent Shakira flowers after the race, but she was not interested in pursuing a relationship with him. Shakira was begging for Cruise to stop flirting with her, as she had no interest.

1 Mark Wahlberg Is Not A Fan Of Tom Cruise

Mark Wahlberg raising an eyebrow

Mark Wahlberg made it clear to fans that despite being in the same business, he does not appreciate Tom Cruise. After Cruise made a comment comparing his job to "fighting in Afghanistan" in 2013, Wahlberg had quite a bit to say about how disrespectful the statement was.

"I don't give a f*ck what you did. You don't do what these guys did. For somebody to sit there and say my job was as difficult as somebody in the military's. How f*cking dare you. While you sit in a makeup chair for two hours."

Sources: usatoday.com, usmagazine.com, businessinsider.com

15 Celebs Who Are Friends With Tom Cruise (And 10 Who Keep Their Distance)

Before Tom was known as a tabloid fixture, he held a Hollywood reputation as one of the nicest men in Hollywood.

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Friend: zac efron, foe: john travolta, friend: dakota fanning, foe: kirstie alley, friend: cameron crowe, foe: leah remini, friend: jonathan lipnicki, foe: will smith, friend: renee zellweger, foe: brooke shields, friend: george clooney, foe: brad pitt, friend: jamie foxx, foe: kate caberano, friend: val kilmer, foe: victoria beckham, friend: david beckham, foe: nazanin boniadi, friend: simon pegg, foe: david miscavige, friend: paul newman, friend: ben stiller, friend: patrick swayze, friend: matt damon, friend: mark ronson.

Tom Cruise has been a central player in Hollywood for the last three decades, ranking up more classic Hollywood titles than most of us have time to watch! As an actor, Cruise was once seen as the Hollywood every-man; the diverse roles in his longstanding career help portray him as one of the nicest men in Hollywood. For some, the news of Mr. Cruise being Mr. Hollywood-Nice-Guy might appear to be a bit surprising, considering his status as one of the most frequent tabloid fixtures of the last fifteen years!

With the wall-to-wall coverage of Tom Cruise's personal life, it can be difficult to figure out a consistent snapshot of Tom's actual personality. Before Tom was known as a tabloid fixture, he held a Hollywood reputation as one of the nicest men in Hollywood, and many of these accounts of Tom's positive personality come from fellow members of Hollywood elite. If your Tom Cruise reading material comes from supermarket tabloids portraying Tom as being unhinged and only having a single word known as " glib " in his vocabulary, it can be slightly jarring to comprehend Tom Cruise is an actual human being, who has worked hard to build a positive Hollywood every-man akin to many of his film roles.

However, it is an impossible mission to be the most well-liked celebrity in Hollywood. While Tom might have a close cast of characters in his celebrity friend repertoire, some members of the Hollywood elite don't feel the warm and fuzzy feelings reminiscent of Jerry MaGuire, toward Tom; some celebrities have had encounters with Tom, which could be found in the pages of gossip magazines. Tom Cruise arguably had some famous faces at hello, but others have made their way to the exit from the Tom train!

The film where High School Musical's Troy Bolton receives constant kind advice from his crime-fighting father with a huge heart would be a box office hit! While we wait for someone to pen the screenplay, we can tide ourselves over with the news Zac Efron and Tom Cruise are good friends in real life!

Vulture gave details of Zac and Tom's relationship, and we're waiting for a basketball game to go down between the two friends. According to the article, Tom "asked him if he knew how to write a motorcycle." Zac was so moved by the encounter. He told Details, "I don't know. I don't even want to know" in response to why he believed Tom would do such a nice favor for the young actor.

It's like a tragic tale of the Hollywood elite; two decade-defining actors aren't able to find space alongside each other on the same legendary actor couch. John Travolta and Tom Cruise won't be hanging out at any Hollywood reunions anytime soon!

For nearly two decades, Tom Cruise has made countless magazine covers for his devotion to the church of Scientology. Travolta, too, is an active member and is outspoken about his relationship to the church. The two actors have been known to be competitive for elite titles within the church.

The Daily Beast wrote a comprehensive outlook on the actors' relationship. A former member of the church spoke out about their rivalry; there was reported jealously from Travolta for not having as solid of a relationship with the head of the church, David Miscavige. The interviewee stated, "Cruise is the only celeb with a direct line to Miscavige. Travolta didn’t have that. Travolta doesn’t get anything free, no one is giving him absurd gifts like an airplane hangar, custom-made bikes, or over-the-top favors."

Wondering about the legitimacy of Hollywood friendships is normal. They are often played out to mind-numbing detail on the covers of magazines, it only makes sense! If you have had the desire to follow a celebrity friendship which could be described as a breath of fresh air and knocks out all of the tired speculations about celebrity relationships, indulge yourself in the story of the friendship between Dakota Fanning and Tom Cruise!

Dakota and Tom met on the set of War of the Worlds, and the actor marks their friendship every year with a super sweet gift. Tom takes time to gift Dakota something special every year for her birthday! Fanning revealed in an interview, "He has sent me a birthday gift every year since I was 11 years old. Beautiful gifts!"

Kirstie Alley has held a place in popular culture since the Eighties. She starred on the legendary show Cheers, delighted an entire generation in the Olsen twin classic It Takes Two, and she is currently a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother! If you prefer to peruse the pages of magazines, you may know Kirstie from the pages of tabloids for her complicated relationship with Tom Cruise.

Like Tom, Kirstie is a member of the Church of Scientology. The celebrity followers of the controversial religion seem like they're participating in their own elite sub-club; former Scientologist,  Leah Remini , revealed many bits of information in her memoir, surrounding fellow celebrity Scientologists. According to News.au, Leah revealed, "I had heard Tom didn't like them [Alley, and John Travolta]."

Cameron Crowe , film director, and friend to famous figures across the board in entertainment has Tom Cruise to thank for a motivational boost after a career slump!

Crowe and Cruise collaborated together on the blockbuster hit of the '90s, Jerry MacGuire, and maintained a solid relationship for twenty-two years. According to The Atlantic, Cruise displayed goal worthy levels of friendship when he actively encouraged his director friend to continue perfecting his craft.

Tom Cruise pumped Cameron Crowe up with an important pep talk. He created a brilliant plan where he introduced Crowe to fellow director Judd Apatow, who happens to be a hardcore fan of Crowe's early film Say Anything; following their introduction, Crowe said , "Cruise sidles up to me and goes: ‘See? Get out of your house, man, it’s fun, and that’s when it felt like, yeah, it’s time to direct again.'"

Perhaps one of the most intense celebrity feuds of all time belongs to the nonexistent relationship between Leah Remini and Tom Cruise. For the last few years, Leah Remini has spent a significant amount of time revealing to the world the intricacies of Tom Cruise and his antics with the Church of Scientology. It's difficult to narrow down the exact reason why Leah and Tom do not get along, but Leah has provided us with an endless string of clues along the way.

Remini publicly left the church in 2013, and famously documented her time in her memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, and included many stories about Cruise. Two years after its publication, she still finds it important to let the world know about his shortcomings. In a Us Weekly article from last year, she referred to Cruise as "diabolical" and "not a good person."

We'll save our fantasy hug-and-make-up scenarios for another pair of feuding celebrities!

Every piece of information involving Jonathan Lipnicki seems to be flat-out cute. You might remember him playing many iconic "cute kid" roles in the Nineties, including 1996's Jerry MacGuire, where he memorably played Tom Cruise's son!

Lipnicki has chosen to live life largely outside of the spotlight, but he is reportedly attempting a return to Hollywood! According to People, one of Jonathan's closest confidants happens to be his grown-up mentor, Tom Cruise. He sat down for an interview where he revealed Tom is still a valuable contact.

Lipnicki said, "I went over to his house because I actually — I cold-called his office at United Artists and asked for advice and, you know, he got back to me and I went over,” he explained. “A big part of his success he attributes to being on time and being polite to people and knowing people’s names and it was incredible to sit down with one of your favorite actors and have an hour-long conversation about acting."

The relationship between Tom Cruise and Will Smith varies, depending on who you ask. The gossip-filled sources enjoy pitting the legendary Hollywood actors against each other, considering Smith's involvement with the troubling Church of Scientology.

The duo seems to be foes for the sake of tabloids. Smith recently shared a throwback photo of the friends posing alongside Smith's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star, Alfonso Riberito!

The guys are seen posing together rocking straw hats, which implies Tom Cruise has a sense of humor for sure. Judging by the beauty of the awesome throwback, Will Smith and Tom Cruise seem to be brothers for life!

The third Google search result for Renee Zellweger is "Renee Zellweger and Tom Cruise." Two decades after the actors memorably starred together in the legendary romantic comedy Jerry MacGuire, we're still trying to figure out the extent of their chemistry; it was so memorable, so who can blame us?

Renee Zellweger still holds similar fuzzy feelings about her co-star, which propelled the romantic comedy buff inside of me rejoice! She told the Daily Mail, "He's a really good person. He's a very, very good person."

Hearing Zellweger's commentary about her old friend is refreshing for his reputation, and it also works for the rom-com enthusiasts of the world!

Unfortunately, Tom Cruise's list of Hollywood fights could warrant its own spreadsheet, and Brooke Shields ' column could take up the whole document. In one of the most memorable popular culture feuds of all time, Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise were reunited years after they co-starred in the film Endless Love, for some unfortunate reasons. Shields was very public with her battles with postpartum depression following the birth of her first child.

Cruise famously did not approve of Shields' personal decision to use medication to treat her depression. He ranted very famously, on an episode of the Today show, to which Shields responded , "I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression."

In the years since the debacle, Tom has apologized, but the two celebrities continue to be put against each other in entertainment outlets. There doesn't seem to be a reconciliation in their future understandably, but it would be a quality conclusion to a Hollywood feud tale!

In a beautiful tale of a longstanding bromance, Tom Cruise knows how to reach out and keep in touch with his older friends, who also happen to be legendary actors!

George Clooney has long been a symbol of the ideal Hollywood man; he has a long-standing career of Blockbuster films and holds a reputation for being one of the nicest men in Hollywood. One of the other famous Hollywood men who reportedly resides in the "nice guy camp" is Tom Cruise, and he and George have bonded, after starring together in ER in the '90s.

Recently, Clooney was involved in an unfortunate motorcycle accident. Cruise provided a note of support to his pal, saying, "He's great on a motorcycle and I hope he's okay. I really, George, I didn't know until I was here but I hope you're okay buddy."

In a celebrity photograph for the ages, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt pose together in all of their '90s glory at a premiere. Both men are featured donning awesomely long-haired manes, appropriate for the era in heavy support for a fashion free-for-all, and the film the actors co-starred in together, Interview With A Vampire.

In the decades since the film's release, the two actors don't seem as chummy as they appear to be in the photo. Brad has since been interviewed speaking about the negative experience he had making the film. Pitt reportedly had a difficult time with the harsh London climate while filming on location.

He told EW as per an article in NOLA, "I'm telling you, one day it broke me. It was like, 'Life's too short for this quality of life.' I called David Geffen, who was a good friend. He was a producer, and he'd just come to visit. I said, 'David, I can't do this anymore. I can't do it. What will it cost me to get out?' And he goes, very calmly, 'Forty million dollars.' And I go, 'Okay, thank you.' It actually took the anxiety off of me. I was like, 'I've got to man up and ride this through, and that's what I'm going to do.'"

Imagine an example of a Hollywood love triangle for the modern age, starring Tom Cruise, except it's not fiction! In recent months, Cruise's ex-wife Katie Holmes has been linked to the actor Jamie Foxx , whom Cruise starred alongside in the 2004 film, Collateral.

The news of a relationship between Holmes and Foxx comes alongside reports stating Holmes isn't allowed to date anyone until the fifth anniversary of her divorce from Cruise, due to Scientology rules. According to Radar Online , "The 37-year old's divorce agreement states she cannot publicly date anyone until five years have passed following her divorce from Tom Cruise."

Tom reportedly  knows about their relationship, and it seems a little unclear if their friendship will survive what Hollywood Life calls "a bro-code violation!"

When discovering someone takes part in a unique organization or has something unusual in common with someone, you might wonder if the two people know one another. For Australian singer and fellow member of the Church of Scientology, Kate Ceberano has nothing to do with that theory, and she wishes you would stop asking.

The singer told the Sydney Morning Herald she and Tom were not friends. She said, "It's like [saying] every Catholic is good friends with the Pope."

The public attention toward Scientology due to Cruise's celebrity status has no appeal to Ceberano. She goes on to add, "I don't mention it, and for the most part I don't go there," when asked about her practice of the religion.

Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer were both big stars during their day, co-starring in the legendary Eighties film Top Gun together, and the pair will be reunited as they film the sequel to Top Gun three decades after the first film hit theaters!

With two legendary names in show business, the curiosity to whether the pair got along was understandably an interesting topic for fans. Kilmer and Cruise were close while filming Top Gun, and remain so to this day! Tom recently gave an endearing update to fans surrounding Val's battle with cancer.

Knowing the pair remain close will be a sweet bonus for those who are looking forward to more Maverick action!

Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham 's relationship status with Tom Cruise seems to be unclear, especially since her husband 's friendship with Tom has been well documented.

The Beckhams had been spotted in public multiple times with Tom Cruise and his ex-wife Katie Holmes, enjoying dinner dates, but the dates seemed to have stopped seemingly for good reason! Some outlets have reported Victoria was a source of comfort for Katie Holmes in the wake of their divorce, and other reports have mentioned rumors of a rift between Victoria and David over his ongoing friendship with Tom.

There is also speculation of a Spice Girls reunion, but it's probably fair to assume Tom Cruise won't have front row seats to any of their concerts!

The second Beckham to appear in Tom's inner circle of friends would be soccer star David Beckham! David and his wife, former Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham, were constant dinner date companions, the couple received coveted invitations to Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes, and David and Tom reportedly spent "hours together on the phone," as David would go to Tom for advice on "trying to make up his mind on whether to join The Galaxy [soccer team]", according to The Guardian.

The two have always been photographed in a friendly manner, enjoying each other's company!

The scoop behind Tom Cruise's relationship with the actress Nazanin Boniadi is incredibly outrageous, much like a lot of Tom's public image. Whether the Scientology related reports surrounding the state of their relationship are true, they are straight out of a Hollywood film script!

Business Insider reported Nazanin was forced to take part in an awkward role, brought on by rules from the Church of Scientology. An HBO Documentary focusing on the church detailed "Tom was in Spain. They were opening a Scientology church in Madrid, and he was overheard complaining he needed a new girlfriend."

Nazanin was the chosen candidate. She was forced to undergo a make-over and was told "her makeover was part of the church's humanitarian mission, because she had to look her best for conferences with world leaders." In reality, her transformation was due to her eligibility to be a suitable girlfriend for Cruise!

The relationship between the two didn't end very well. After reportedly insulting the leader of the Church, their relationship was called off.

Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise were co-stars on the set of the Mission Impossible franchise, and they have been known to get into fun antics on the set. More importantly, Tom Cruise was a legitimate friend for Simon Pegg, and their friendship has stood the test of Hollywood speculation!

Simon told The Guardian , "I have never discussed his beliefs with him, for example,” Pegg says. “Everyone always asks: ‘Did he try and convert you? Is it all Scientology?’ But I’ve never seen that. I have glimpsed it a little bit — people from the church have been on set now and again, but he doesn’t proselytize about it."

One of the biggest key players in Tom Cruise's elaborate stage show is David Miscavige, the controversial leader of The Church of Scientology, to which Cruise has been extremely loyal to for decades, and has shaped his public image and public perception of his career for many. Tom's relationship with David Miscavige has had its ups and downs, seeming to correlate with whether Tom's public image has been positive or not.

David's father Ronald could be potentially to blame for David's fall out with Tom. In Ronald's memoir, he recalled a story where his son worked hard to get Tom to join the church, planning an elaborate party. Ronald apparently David "hit the roof when Cruise arrived four hours late and went to bed without dinner."

By 1986, only three years after Tom Cruise's break through film Risky Business, he was starring alongside veteran actors like Paul Newman ! The two co-starred in the film, The Color Of Money.

The two actors reportedly got along very well on set. When Newman and Cruise first met, Newman exerted his professionalism and referred to Cruise by " using his last name " every time they were on set together!

The Color Of Money set wasn't the first place the two had met; Newman greeted him with a "hey killer" when they were introduced in Newman's office after he had seen Cruise act in the film, Taps, as per a retrospective in MentalFloss.

It's probably a well-known fact that guys in Hollywood with a reputation for being labeled as "the nice guy" all know each other, but it's always pretty cool to find out it may be true! Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller have known each other for years on film sets, even starring together in Tropic Thunder.

The Cruise and Stiller friendship is reportedly so tight, they are passing it through the generations! According to The Observer, Tom's daughter Suri and Ben's daughter, Ella, met up for a playdate when their parents were in town together in 2008. No word on whether the girls are still friends a decade later, but a multi-generation friendship is always sweet!

In a story made bittersweet by time and circumstance, Patrick Swayze and Tom Cruise's friendship began with the onscreen adaptation of male friendship where the two met on the set of The Outsiders, a classic coming-of-age film released in 1983.

Tom was reportedly in awe of Patrick on set of the film. When their co-star Rob Lowe recalled some behind the scenes stories about the cast, he wrote for Vanity Fair, "Lowe remembers hanging out with Cruise and the other actors in a gymnasium on set, when Patrick Swayze — who, Lowe writes, “makes Tom Cruise look lobotomized” — “begins to teach us a standing backflip, Cruise, not surprisingly, is all over it."

Sadly, Swayze and Cruise were never able to work together again, as Swayze passed away from cancer in 2009, but their performance in The Outsiders will always reflect the admiration Tom had for his friend, Patrick.

Matt Damon seems to be the quintessential best guy friend in Hollywood. He's known for his decades-long friendship with Ben Affleck, and he's also friends with another Hollywood veteran of the '90s; Tom Cruise!

Damon and Cruise are like all of our dude friends we know; they have lunch together and compare their cool talents. In the case of two Hollywood actors, they compare their ability to perform Hollywood worthy stunts.

According to USA Today , Tom and Matt met over lunch because Matt "just had to know about the spectacular Burj stunt featured in Mission." The Burj refers to an extremely tall building in Dubai, where Cruise jumped off of, for the third Mission Impossible film!

In a career move only many could dream of, celebrity deejay to the stars, Mark Ronson , deejayed one of the most lavish weddings of the century so far; the 2006 nuptials of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes . Of course, 2006 was a long time away from Ronson's immense success with songs like the huge hit Uptown Funk, so playing tunes for the 'TomKat' wedding had to do as the most admirable career move for Ronson, for a little while.

References:  Today ,  Vulture ,  The Daily Beast ,  Time ,  The Atlantic ,  Us Weekly ,  People ,  Today ,  Daily Beast ,  Daily Mail ,  Today ,  Hello ,  NOLA ,  Radar 

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All about the life and career of the ageless actor Tom Cruise.

Crazy Stunts He's Actually Done

Inside Tom Cruise's celebrity friendships in tight-knit circle - from Will Smith to Val Kilmer

Although Tom Cruise recently spent his birthday with fans, the Hollywood actor has a tight-knit circle of celebrity friends, including Will Smith, fellow co-star Val Kilmer and many more

tom cruise hollywood friends

  • 08:00, 9 Jul 2023

Tom Cruise recently revealed that he spent with 61st birthday with fans as he promoted his latest Mission Impossible film.

He took to his Twitter account to thank the fans he spent the special day with, writing: "It was great to spend my birthday with fans today. Thanks for coming out to the premiere!"

Despite seemingly enjoying his day on the red carpet and surrounded by those who admire him, Tom could've spent it with his small circle of celebrity pals. The iconic actor is said to have a close-knit circle in the world of showbiz from which to pick from. Let's take a look at some of his close pals.

Tom and Will Smith 's friendship goes way back to the early noughties, with Tom surprising Will at his hand and footprint ceremony at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theater in 2007. "He's truly an exceptional, exceptional human being," Tom previously told Entertainment tonight of Will.

"Wherever Will Smith is, that's where the party is, everybody knows that. When I was doing Born on the Fourth of July, his music got me through that picture."

Despite some friendly competition between the pair in Hollywood films, the pair have worked together, with Tom going uncredited for his work on Will's hit movie I Am Legend. "He's read five drafts of the script, sent me notes. We are committed to helping each other be able to be the best that we can be," Will said at the time.

Val Kilmer and Tom famously worked together on the 1980s film Tom Gun and developed a life-long friendship. Tom ensured Val be included in the recent sequel, which Val accepted despite issues with his voice following a battle with throat cancer.

Speaking of the scene where Val and Tom's characters reunite, Tom said at the premiere: "You see that scene, it's very special. The first one, I really rallied hard for him. I was like, 'Val, you gotta make this movie. You're gonna be amazing.'"

Producers used AI to help bring Kilmer's voice back for the short cameo.

Jerry Bruckheimer

Jerry Bruckheimer and Tom also got close on the set of Top Gun and Jerry has only ever had kind words for the actor. "Great actor. Great partner," he said in 2016.

"If you're in a foxhole, you want Tom Cruise next to," Bruckheimer told ET 2016. Jerry also said that Tom's character in the film is "an iconic character that he helped create" before adding: "He's the hardest working actor I've ever worked with."

Dakota Fanning

Tom remained close with his War of the Worlds on-screen daughter, Dakota Fanning , after they worked together in 2005. As she took to Watch What Happens Live, Dakota told audiences that Tom had sent her birthday gifts every year since she was 11.

"He has sent me a birthday gift every year since I was 11 years old. It's usually shoes," she said.

Tom once told Oprah of Dakota: "She's ten, eleven... she's incredibly bright. You know what, I told her, 'You're a great actress, and so I'm here if you need anything.'"

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Tom Cruise’s Dating History: All The Relationships The Hollywood ‘Top Gun’ Has Been In

Showbusiness is a tricky place to be in — with fame and fortune comes a ton of scandals. It seems like everyone at some point dated everyone. And when you’ve been around the block for as long as the incomparable Tom Cruise, having a dozen A-listers in your dating history is no big feat but a subtle flex of the star power of the Hollywood heartthrob.

Yes, Cruise has had a romantic life as glorious as his four-decade-long movie career. In fact, the Mission Impossible actor has been married three times – first to Mimi Rogers (1987-1990), then to Nicole Kidman (1990-2001) and later to Katie Holmes (2006-2012). Famously, he is also one of Cher’s top five lovers.

Talk about his recent romances and you would be pleasantly surprised to know that Cruise was rumoured to be dating ex-girlfriend and bonafide hottie Sofia Vergara again before moving on to Russian socialite Elsina Khayrova.

If you find yourself captivated by the enigma of this Hollywood heartthrob’s love life, join us as we unravel the chapters of Tom Cruise’s dating history.

Tom Cruise’s dating history: Enduring relationships and high-profile flings

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Tom Cruise (@tomcruise)

Unearthing the good, the bad and the intriguingly perplexing details of Cruise’s dating life from the heady 1980s to the 2020s when TC continues to enjoy a thrilling ride even in his early 60s.

Melissa Gilbert (1981): Teenage love

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Melissa E. Gilbert (@melissagilbertofficial)

Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert enjoys the privilege of being Tom Cruise’s first girlfriend . The two reportedly connected during Cruise’s pre-fame days when he still went by his birth name, Tom Mapother IV. Gilbert reminisced about their teenage fling, disclosing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that she was around 16 or 17 years old at the time. Despite the teenage romance, Gilbert emphasised that their relationship remained PG-13, affirming, “We made out, but honestly, there was no sex.” However, she dubbed Cruise as a “good kisser” in the same interview. 

Deconstructing Brad Pitt’s Dating History That Boasts Many A-Listers

Deconstructing Brad Pitt’s Dating History That Boasts Many A-Listers

Robert Pattinson’s Girlfriends And Dating History: From Kristen Stewart To Suki Waterhouse

Robert Pattinson’s Girlfriends And Dating History: From Kristen Stewart To Suki Waterhouse

Rebecca de mornay (1983): a ‘risky business’.

 Tom Cruise dating history

Next up on the list of Tom Cruise’s ex-girlfriends is his Risky Business co-star Rebecca De Mornay. In a revealing account from actor Curtis Armstrong’s tell-all Revenge of the Nerd , it’s suggested that Cruise and De Mornay, both  21 at that time, shared an intense affair during the shooting of the film back in the early ’80s. Following the movie’s production, Cruise and De Mornay reportedly began dating, with their relationship becoming public knowledge in a 1986 Rolling Stone profile featuring Sean Penn. Recounting a New York night out with Cruise, Penn shared an incident where Cruise declared his commitment to a girlfriend when approached by an admirer. 

Patti Scialfa (1985): A brief stroke of love

Tom cruise dating history

In a brief romantic chapter, Tom Cruise was linked to Patti Scialfa, a member of the E Street Band and the wife of Bruce Springsteen. Details of their short-lived relationship in 1985 were uncovered through an old People profile from 1988. The profile mentions that Cruise and Scialfa dated “briefly” during that period. 

Cher (1985): Hot minute heavy romance

tom cruise hollywood friends

The next name to go down in Tom Cruise’s dating history is none other than pop icon Cher. The two legit dated back in the year 1985. Their paths initially crossed at Madonna’s wedding to Sean Penn, and fate brought them together once more at a White House dinner. Cher revealed intriguing details about their fling years later on Watch What Happens Live , emphasising that Cruise wasn’t yet a Scientologist during their time together. Describing their romance as “ pretty hot and heavy for a little minute.”  

Cher famously ranked Cruise among her top five lovers. The unexpected union of Tom Cruise and Cher adds a fascinating chapter to the actor’s romantic history that’s nothing short of a whirlwind.

Mimi Rogers (1987-1990): The first wife

Tom Cruise and Mimi Rogers at the Pocono Sports Car Grand Prix on July 25, 1987 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania pic.twitter.com/lEWFNt4dMd — VKadre_ru (@KinoVinoandMore) April 20, 2017

Tom Cruise’s first wife, Mimi Rogers, played a pivotal role in his life, as revealed in a 1986 Rolling Stone interview. The two met at a dinner party during the development of Cruise’s iconic film Top Gun , where he expressed admiration for Rogers’ intelligence. They tied the knot in 1987, and Cruise credited her as a crucial support during the challenging filming of Born .

Mini isn’t just Tom’s first wife but the actor also dubs her as the first person he had ever been in love with, highlighting how their relationship had opened him up emotionally and contributed to his growth as an actor. 

Despite their deep connection, the reasons behind their eventual split remain unclear. Rogers later spoke to People , expressing the difficulty of maintaining individuality in the shadow of Cruise’s fame, stating, “No matter what the article is, it’s ‘Tom Cruise’s wife…'” Their love story, though no longer intact, offers a glimpse into the complexities of navigating fame and personal identity in Hollywood.

Nicole Kidman (1990-2001): Long and steady ‘Days of Thunder’

 Tom Cruise dating history

Cruise has a history of being linked to his leading ladies and unsurprisingly he met Kidman while they were shooting the classic 1990 film Days of Thunder and he was… extremely into her! 

Despite Tom’s admission of an initially intense physical attraction, their connection deepened, leading to a private Christmas Eve wedding less than a year after Cruise’s divorce from Mimi Rogers. The couple collaborated on multiple films, including Far And Away , during which they adopted two children, Isabella and Connor. Even in the midst of intense scenes on the set of Eyes Wide Shut in 1999, the duo found joy in go-kart racing at 3 AM. However, in February 2001, they stunned the world by announcing their separation after 11 good years of enjoying marital bliss. 

In a joint statement, they attributed the split to the challenges posed by their divergent careers, expressing that an amicable separation seemed the best course.

Penélope Cruz (2001 to 2004): Another co-star, another romance

 Tom Cruise dating history

In the aftermath of his divorce from Nicole Kidman, Cruise found romantic solace in his Vanilla Sky co-star Penélope Cruz. The two dated from 2001 to 2004. However, later Cruise clarified to The Telegraph that their relationship began after his divorce from Kidman, stating, “I’ve never fallen in love with someone I’m working with. It’s always been afterwards.”  

Despite efforts to keep the romance discreet, challenges arose. Reports suggested Cruz struggled to integrate into Cruise’s family, facing difficulty with his children accepting her. Additionally, frustration emerged over Cruise maintaining contact with ex-wife Kidman. After three years, the couple decided to part ways in 2004, pretty amicably. 

Sofia Vergara (2005): Almost another Mrs. Tom Cruise

 Tom Cruise dating history

In 2005, shortly after parting ways with Penélope Cruz, Tom Cruise and Sofía Vergara briefly explored a romantic connection. This was way before Vergara fully arrived on the Hollywood scene. As detailed by Andrew Morton, the author of Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography , Cruise, a devout follower of Scientology, presented church leaders with a roster of women he wished to pursue romantically. Notably, among the names on this list was the then-up-and-coming actor Sofía Vergara.

However, their budding relationship faced an abrupt conclusion before gaining momentum. According to Morton, it became evident that Vergara was unwittingly auditioning for a role larger than any film part – that of “Mrs. Tom Cruise.” The conditions were laid bare: should she accept this metaphorical role, she would be required to forsake her Catholic faith and embrace Scientology.

Naturally, the relationship faltered before it could truly blossom.

Katy Holmes (2005 to 2012): The famous TomKat whirlwind romance

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by E! News (@enews)

In 2005, Hollywood witnessed the high-profile union of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, affectionately dubbed “TomKat.” Their whirlwind romance included a memorable public appearance in Rome and the birth of their daughter, Suri, in April 2006. Despite a seemingly blissful start, their relationship faced scrutiny, notably during Cruise’s exuberant declaration of love on Oprah Winfrey’s show. The couple married in a Scientologist ceremony at Odescalchi Castle in Italy. However, controversies arose, including Cruise’s purchase of a home ultrasound machine and insistence on silence during childbirth, aligning with Scientology principles. 

The marriage concluded in 2012, with Holmes gaining full custody of Suri. Post-divorce, Holmes faced restrictions, allegedly unable to publicly discuss the marriage or date openly for five years. As TomKat’s story unfolded, it became a compelling saga of love, controversy and post-divorce constraints.

Hayley Atwell (2020 to 2022): Sweet romance marred by public attention

tom cruise hollywood friends

After a considerable hiatus from the dating scene, Cruise found love again in 2020 with Mission Impossible co-star Hayley Atwell. Well, we told you he has a thing for his leading ladies. Although never officially confirmed, they were rumoured to be a thing until June of 2022.

While the duo attended Wimbledon together in 2021, they kept mum on the romance speculations. A source revealed to The Sun that they decided to part ways, opting for friendship instead. The alleged split was attributed to the challenges of handling public attention. In May 2023, Atwell addressed the dating claims, emphasising a “ truly extraordinary power of platonic love.” Speaking to Country Town & House Magazine , she admired the camaraderie on the Mission Impossible set, describing her feelings as beautiful and stating, “I love this group of people.”

Shakira (2023): ‘A soft pillow to fall on’

tom cruise hollywood friends

After meeting at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami in May 2023, Tom Cruise and Shakira sparked rumours of a potential romance. The duo, photographed together, raised eyebrows following Shakira’s separation from husband Gerard Piqué amid allegations of infidelity last summer. An anonymous source shared with Page Six that Shakira “needs a soft pillow to fall on, and that could be Tom.” Cruise was reportedly “extremely interested in pursuing” the Hips Don’t Lie singer, with evident chemistry seen as they chatted in a private suite at the Miami International Autodrome. 

The Hollywood star even brought flowers for Shakira during their encounter. Well, Cruise’s apparent interest in Shakira adds an intriguing twist to this starry romance, which sure was more than just a rebound.

Sofía Vergara (2023): Old flame burns bright again

Following their brief romance in 2005, Cruise and Vergara have again sparked dating rumours after a good 18 years. The Modern Family star finds herself enjoying singlehood again after her separation from Joe Manganiello . Rumours swirl that the Top Gun actor is once again eyeing a potential romantic liaison with the charismatic actress.

Their initial dalliance, marked by Hollywood Hills revelry and carefree moments, didn’t evolve into a long-term commitment, as Sofía, at the time, didn’t signal a desire for something enduring. A lingering sentiment haunts Tom, and a sense of regret for choosing Katie over Sofía, an insider suggests. With Sofía now reentering the single scene, it’s reported that Tom sees in her someone who aligns with his criteria for a romantic partner.

While nothing has been officially confirmed, the high-profile love universe of Tom Cruise’s dating history leaves the door ajar for more unexpected twists and turns.

Elsina Khayrova (Dec 2023 – Feb 2024): The neighbour girlfriend 

tom cruise hollywood friends

In December 2023, Tom Cruise began dating Russian socialite Elsina Khayrova, whom he met through a mutual friend at one of his exclusive Sunday tea parties in his London penthouse. Despite their recent public appearances together, their romance has concluded amicably, as reported by The Sun US.

The couple, who happened to be neighbours, decided to part ways following a series of dates in February. Despite attending a charity gala dinner in London separately to support the Air Ambulance Charity, they arrived separately, indicating the shift in their relationship status.

According to sources, the decision to end the relationship was mutual, with no animosity between them. The close proximity of their residences in the same London block made the situation potentially uncomfortable, prompting them to peacefully separate. However, there are no hard feelings, and it appears that their romance simply ran its course.

Reports from Page Six suggest that Cruise had met Khayrova’s children the week before they split . Khayrova has a son and daughter from her previous marriage to Russian oligarch Dimitry Tsvetkov, with whom she separated in 2021 amidst property disputes.

The Shortest Celebrity Marriages In Hollywood

The Shortest Celebrity Marriages In Hollywood

Britney Spears’ Boyfriends: Deconstructing A Dating History That Made The Singer Go “Oops!… I Did It Again”

Britney Spears’ Boyfriends: Deconstructing A Dating History That Made The Singer Go “Oops!… I Did It Again”

(Header and feature image courtesy: Credits: IMDb/Far and Away and Vanilla Sky)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– Who is Tom Cruise dating currently? Tom Cruise was recently rumoured to be dating Russian socialite Elsina Khayrova but the two have allegedly broken off.

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Tom Cruise’s Dating History: All The Relationships The Hollywood ‘Top Gun’ Has Been In

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Longtime Friends - Fascinating Facts About Tom Cruise

In an industry known for its fleeting relationships, genuine friendships in Hollywood can be rare. However, Tom Cruise and fellow actor Emilio Estevez managed to form a lasting bond long before they starred in “The Outsiders” together. The two actors were both buddies and auditioned for the film side by side. Their connection predates their Hollywood careers, as they attended the same high school in Santa Monica.

Longtime Friends | Getty Images Photo by Frank Edwards/Fotos International

Their friendship even extended to personal milestones, with Estevez serving as Cruise’s best man in his first wedding to Mimi Rogers. Through shared experiences and a deep-rooted connection, Cruise and Estevez have defied the odds and forged a genuine friendship in the often transitory world of show business.

Almost Iron Man

It may come as a surprise, but Tom Cruise was involved with the Marvel film "Iron Man" as both an actor and producer. However, in 2004, he made the decision to walk away from the project. Cruise later explained that he had a gut feeling that it wouldn't work out as he envisioned. Although he followed his instincts at the time, it's undeniable that the "Iron Man" films went on to achieve tremendous success and became a cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Almost Iron Man | Alamy Stock Photo by Pictorial Press Ltd & MovieStillsDB Photo by Drewbee/Paramount Pictures Marvel Entertainment

Reflecting on this now, Cruise might occasionally ponder what his involvement in the franchise could have meant for his career and the impact he could have had on the superhero genre.

A Daredevil

Known for his relentless pursuit of thrilling roles, Tom Cruise brought his signature action-star charisma to the popular show "Top Gear" in 2010. In a display of his daredevil spirit, Cruise not only secured the fastest lap on the celebrity leaderboard but also flirted with danger as he came perilously close to flipping his car during the exhilarating race.

A Daredevil | Getty Images Photo by Rusty Jarrett/NASCAR

His electrifying performance left an indelible mark, earning him praise from renowned racecar driver Ben Collins, who declared Cruise as his favorite contestant and considered the actor's appearance on the show as the pinnacle of his own career. It is evident that action, intensity, and excitement naturally gravitate towards Cruise, both in his on-screen endeavors and in his real-life pursuits.

What’s Wrong with 33?

Tom Cruise has had three marriages, and interestingly, each of them ended when his wives—Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes—reached the age of 33. It's a curious coincidence, and while the reasons behind these splits remain unclear, we can't help but hope that Cruise's next love will go the distance!

What’s Wrong with 33? | Alamy Stock Photo by Richard Levine

Perhaps he'll find a partner to build a lasting and joyful relationship with, defying any numerical patterns. Love has its own mysterious ways, and we eagerly await Cruise's next chapter, filled with warmth, laughter, and a love that knows no bounds.

Born to Ride

From a young age, Tom Cruise showed a penchant for adventure and a budding desire to become an action star. When he was just 10 years old, he used his savings to purchase a Yamaha motorcycle, eager to embrace the thrill of the open road. However, his enthusiasm was met with a mishap as he ended up crashing the bike between two cars. Yet, this early setback didn't dampen Cruise's spirit or deter him from his love for motorcycles.

Born to Ride | Alamy Stock Photo by WFPA

In fact, he went on to showcase his riding skills in numerous films throughout his illustrious career, fearlessly embodying the thrill-seeking characters he portrayed on screen. Cruise's unwavering determination and passion for living life to the fullest have truly shaped him into the iconic action star he is today.

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Head to head: Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio

Tom Cruise or Leonardo DiCaprio: who is king of Hollywood?

T here is a story playing out right now in Hollywood that epitomises the perils of fame, the precariousness of success and the dangers of celebrities left unguarded. You can imagine it framed in the blockbuster vernacular, the voiceover delivered in the gravelly, portentous boom that comes as standard in every trailer: "Two men. One dream: to be the king of the multiplexes. But they dared to want more. They dared to want . . . integrity." Then the names and faces of two Hollywood behemoths would flash up on screen. Tom Cruise. Leonardo DiCaprio . Who will prevail?

Barring some dramatic turning of the tide, DiCaprio is now secure in his place as Hollywood's unimpeachable golden boy, while Cruise, the previous incumbent, is in danger of resembling the court jester. On paper, the pair still occupy similar territory. They aren't separated by much more than age (Cruise is 12 years older than DiCaprio) and a few million dollars. With two legitimate recent hits behind him in Shutter Island and Inception, DiCaprio can expect $28m per movie, while Cruise is still able to command $22m a throw. (Forbes magazine notes that "Cruise's career has been rocky lately", but attributes his ongoing fortune to revenue from "a string of older hits that constantly play on TV".) Both men have sought out many of the same directors including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg; DiCaprio is also close friends with Michael Mann, who cast Cruise in a rare bad-guy role in Collateral.

But it is in the management of their image that the stars begin to diverge. DiCaprio has policed himself efficiently, keeping his life largely private and expressing himself through his work. But with Cruise you never know what you're going to get next; and audiences cannot help but drag the baggage of his off-screen life to the cinema with them, which is the worst possible outcome for any actor.

Two revealing Cruise moments, both screened on British television in the last fortnight, testify to the extent to which his image has been corroded. The first was on BBC2's Top Gear last week. Cruise and Cameron Diaz, his co-star in the very poor shoot-'em-up comedy Knight and Day, consented to be interviewed mere metres away from the great unwashed, or Jeremy Clarkson as it says on his passport. To the casual observer, this appearance represented nothing more than a pair of A-listers unafraid to appear to be slumming it if it means spreading the word about their new movie. But to Cruise-watchers, the Top Gear gig was the latest desperate attempt by the star to rehabilitate a persona that has fallen starkly into disrepair over the last five years. He's trying to be seen as the guy next door whose dental work just happens to cost more than your house.

There have been numerous factors that have driven a wedge between the star and his public, but few of them date back to BC – that is, Before Couch. The notorious "couch-jumping" incident on Oprah Winfrey's chat show in 2005 is where the trouble really began. In the wake of a newspaper poll, which had expressed scepticism about his relationship with the actor Katie Holmes, Cruise sought to demonstrate his love for his then-fiancee (now wife, and mother of his daughter Suri) by leaping up and down on the most sacred couch on US television, and generally causing untold distress to Oprah's upholstery.

That brings us to the second Cruise moment of recent days, when appearing on Alan Carr's talk show, David Walliams professed his love for his own bride by performing a personal take on the Cruise episode. So ingrained is Cruise's Oprah appearance in our collective memory that no explanation was needed.

Watch the original clip again and it is clear that Cruise fully believed himself to be staging a winning display of devotion. What the world saw was something else entirely. "What happened, happened," Cruise told Esquire magazine earlier this year. "Afterward, wild things were being said about me, and once they're in the ether, there's nothing you can do about it. It felt like being the new kid in the schoolyard again and the other kids are whispering and whispering about you and suddenly you hear what they're saying, and you think, 'What? That didn't happen. Look at the reality of the situation.'"

At the same time that Cruise has suffered a steep, nosebleed-inducing depreciation, Leonardo DiCaprio has risen to fill the space vacated by him. DiCaprio has never really belonged to the same species of performer. At 36, he is 12 years younger than Cruise; and whereas the Top Gun pin-up always had his sights set on stardom, DiCaprio was an actor first, and a superstar entirely by accident. (Blame Titanic. He does.) However unconvincing some might find him as a grizzled adult in the likes of Blood Diamond and Shutter Island, there is no mistaking his relief now that he has traded in his pin-up status for a face that looks like it has been around the world a few times, even if just on a student visa.

In his earliest films (This Boy's Life, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?), DiCaprio was as full-blooded and fearless an actor as it was possible to find. He was also a natural. The young Cruise, on the other hand, had the motivation to succeed, but not the dramatic alchemy of a DiCaprio. In Richard T Kelly's oral biography Sean Penn: His Life and Times, Penn recalls some illuminating first impressions of the teenage Cruise when they worked together on the 1981 drama Taps: "This was a guy who was ready for his chance, no question about it. He wouldn't have known that himself – he was second-guessing everything all the time. But that didn't stop him from committing when it was time. Cruise was so . . . like he was training for the fucken Olympics . I think he was the first person I ever said 'Calm down!' to."

Cruise went on to do some nimble comic work as a rich kid out of his depth in the bawdy comedy Risky Business, and had a dignified flirtation with the brat pack in Francis Coppola's The Outsiders, but it was Top Gun in 1986 that both ratified him as a star, and eclipsed his potential as an actor. Not that being a star is easy. But for a long time, that's what Cruise was. Learning to be an actor again in films such as Born on the Fourth of July and Magnolia seemed to demand of him the gruelling development of an extra muscle, whereas the daily grind of celebrity – cranking up the charm, gladhanding fans and smooching babies, manipulating his public persona – came naturally.

It doesn't look so natural now. The more Cruise tries to avert continuing disaster, the more vulnerable he appears. After a series of damaging PR disasters, he is in danger of becoming a laughing stock. Knight and Day was a relative flop on its recent US release, pulling in just over $20m on its opening weekend – a fraction of its $107m budget. It's the lowest gross of any of Cruise's action films since Days of Thunder 20 years ago, and an unambiguous sign either that audiences are growing weary of the star's extravagant confidence, or that his extra-curricular tomfoolery has undermined his formerly palatable on-screen persona.

Meanwhile, DiCaprio is riding high. Christopher Nolan's Inception, in which he plays an "extractor" who enters the dreams of others, has dominated the world box office since its release last month; at the time of writing it has amassed a worldwide total of $363m and shows no sign of waning, with research indicating that audiences are making repeat visits to untangle its mysteries, however threadbare. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, DiCaprio admitted that he hadn't acted in the nine months since completing the film – he simply hasn't found the right project yet. And while he is scheduled to play J Edgar Hoover in a forthcoming biopic directed by Clint Eastwood and scripted by Dustin Lance Black (the Oscar-winning writer of Milk), he doesn't need to lift a finger until he's good and ready.

Cruise, on the other hand, hasn't got a moment to lose. Last month, David Thomson wrote in this paper that Inception was the sort of film that Cruise might have made a decade ago. And while the age difference, and disparity in acting styles, between the two performers means that they can't often have been rivals for the same parts, it's true that Cruise had his shot at Inception-style material with Vanilla Sky (a remake of the Spanish thriller Open Your Eyes) and Minority Report (a philosophical thriller far superior to Inception). But thanks to the decline in his image, he now lacks even the gravitas to solicit an audience's goodwill for an undemanding blockbuster such as Knight and Day.

The couch-jumping incident may have contributed to being dropped by the studio Paramount, which made the Mission: Impossible trilogy, but the general mistrust of Cruise has long been bound up with his vehement promotion of Scientology, L Ron Hubbard's extra-terrestrial-based religion. "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," said Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount's parent company Viacom, when news broke of the studio severing its ties to the star in 2006. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

That euphemistic phrase "recent conduct" covered not just the couch-jumping but Cruise's messy public spat with Brooke Shields (the star of the 1981 film Endless Love, in which Cruise had an early, supporting role), during which he berated her for fighting post-partum depression with psychiatry and anti-depressants, both bugbears of any card-carrying Scientologist.

He later apologised to his former co-star, but other rapprochements were longer in coming. Shortly after his outburst at Shields, he got into a verbal tussle about Scientology with US television host Matt Lauer on The Today Show. Part of Cruise's delayed damage-limitation campaign in recent times has involved returning to The Today Show to reflect on his behaviour. "I went back, and looked at [the interview]," he told Lauer in December 2008, "and it was interesting . . . I came across as arrogant. . . I didn't communicate it in the way I wanted to communicate it. Also, that's not the way I am. That's not the person I am."

Cruise has since resolved not to discuss Scientology in interviews – "I think there's a time and place for it," he told Lauer – but there is no disentangling him from the subject. In any word-association game, you will invariably find that the words "Tom Cruise" are followed by "Xenu, dictator of the Galactic Confederacy." His PR representatives seem to have been disappointingly slow to realise that, if you're an actor hunting for widespread approval, you don't do Scientology.

Even here, on the subject of public proclamations, DiCaprio has the edge over the older man. Where Cruise has been aggressive and passionate only in his promotion of his chosen religion, DiCaprio reserves his soapbox moments for selfless causes that most of us can get behind – he has campaigned on environmental matters (he co-produced and narrated the environmental documentary 11th Hour), worked with orphaned children in Mozambique, given $1m to relief efforts in Haiti. Cruise couldn't look much worse if he were to speak out against composting, or be snapped in a clinch with Sarah Palin.

Despite all the strikes against him, Cruise still has certain things in his favour. On the plus side, he isn't Mel Gibson. And he has plenty of chums willing to spring to his defence. "He's a friend of mine and I find it very unfair," James Mangold, director of Knight and Day, said recently. "I think there are wildly unrealistic expectations placed upon him. Tom's an intense guy. He's very physical but there's something really funny about him and joyous and also, to be honest, something eccentric about him; how hard-working he is, how intense he is . . . The part of it that is most concerning for me is I just think he's a phenomenal actor and some people deal with him as if he's a lightweight. The reality is that he has delivered some of the best performances in movie history."

The pressing question is how can Cruise recast himself in the public imagination, and can he recover his Hollywood crown? He has tried to kill off his old persona before, notably in Cameron Crowe's film Jerry Maguire, which began with the sports agent played by Cruise undergoing a humiliating sacking. Even Knight and Day seems to acknowledge that the days of the old Tom Cruise are numbered; in his first scene in the movie, he is shown at the controls of an arcade game which tells him: "You're dead."

When he appeared in a cameo role as the monstrous studio boss Len Grossman in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, audiences responded enthusiastically to the spectre of a star renowned for his seriousness ditching his looks and lustre to play an outlandish comic caricature. His recent reprise of the role at the MTV movie awards, where he danced lasciviously in-character with Jennifer Lopez, preceded an announcement that Grossman would get his own spin-off movie. Even those of us who feel that the potential comedy of Cruise as Grossman is undercut by the actor's transparent need to be seen to have a sense of humour would be hard pressed to argue against this strategy.

Simon Pegg, who starred in Mission: Impossible III told me last month that he is rooting for Cruise. "It all started with that couch-jumping thing, didn't it? It just seems so stupid. Having worked with him, I know he's a very friendly and professional guy. I hope people give him a break. I want to see him carry on making movies for a long time to come."

  • Leonardo DiCaprio

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Tom Cruise Sends This Same Gift To His Friends Every Year

Tom Cruise laughs

"Mission Impossible" star Tom Cruise could quite possibly be the biggest star on the planet, but it turns out he might also have the biggest sweet tooth. The "Top Gun" legend is renowned throughout insider Hollywood circles as being generous and kind, as evidenced by what he does when he thinks no one is looking. Like the time in 1996 when he witnessed the moment a woman was struck by a hit-and-run, per Tampa Bay Times . The "Jerry Maguire" star not only stopped to call 911, but he also accompanied her to the hospital and paid for her whopping $7000 medical bill (screaming "Show me the money!" ... er, probably ). He has also been known to save people drowning off the coast of Capri, and to chase away on foot London muggers, per TMZ . Are we sure he's not secretly part of the Avengers? Because wow . 

That's not all. Have you heard of the Cruise Cake list? This is a real thing and it is a pure delight. It turns out Cruise feels the need ... the need to give cake. Celebs and friends of all shapes and sizes have reported that every year, unexpectedly and without asking, they receive a very decadent cake courtesy of Cruise. First of all, yum. Second of all, we need to be on this list pronto.

Tom Cruise's cake list is a who's-who of Hollywood

Oh, to be on the Cruise Cake list is to know pure joy, because the culinary delight is the signature coconut bundt cake from Doan's Bakery in California, per Yahoo . Adorned in white chocolate, cheese frosting, and toasted coconut flakes, the cake's description alone has us #drooling. And according to some of the biggest celebs on the C.C.L., it's the most decadent treat they've ever had. 

Tom Cruise's "Interview With The Vampire" co-star Kirsten Dunst revealed on "The Graham Norton Show" that she still gets one every Christmas, and her entire family cheers upon its arrival, "'Cruise Cake's here!'"   Henry Cavill ,  Rosie O'Donnell ,  Cobie Smulders, and Jimmy Fallon  have admitted that they all enjoy Cruise Cake around the festive season.

His generosity doesn't stop at the rich and famous, though. He also shipped 300 of the indulgent coconut pieces of heaven from L.A. to the U.K. so that his entire "Mission Impossible 7" crew could enjoy his favorite delicacy, per The U.K. Sun . But he didn't use FedEx or Purolator — the cakes flew in on his own private jet! "It is extravagant," a source told the outlet, "but Tom is an incredibly generous person and he wanted to do something special for everyone who has worked on the movie with him."

Tom Cruise has a great explanation for sending out cakes

In 2018, during an appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Corden,"  Tom Cruise told the British funnyman that sending cakes is his modus operandi because he can't eat sugar himself when training for a role (otherwise how else would Ethan Hunt grip the side of a moving plane ?). So he ships them around and lives vicariously through other people's enjoyment. "I wait for the calls. I'm like, 'Tell me about it,'" he told Corden.

The Guardian reported that the "Jack Reacher" star first encountered the artisanal delight while married to Katie Holmes. The "Dawson's Creek" star had a competition with Diane Keaton to discover the most delicious cake. It seems Cruise was the official judge, because when he had his taste of Keaton's selected Doan's Bakery cake, he was hooked for life.

Doan's Bakery themselves have admitted that they were unsure of their future during the pandemic that saw many shops and stores close their doors for good amid stay-at-home orders. The cake, which they've been making since 1984, was dreamed up by owner Eric Doan's mother, but that didn't mean their originality would sustain them during the pandemic. Doan told Yahoo!  that Cruise's penchant for cake-giving is "honestly is one of the things that kept us alive."

Why Tom Cruise and the Beckhams ended their friendship after being inseparable

Fans of the former soccer star were expecting to learn more about the rumored feud on david’s latest netflix documentary..

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Once upon a time Tom Cruise and the Beckhams were one of the most fan-favorite friendships in Hollywood, with the actor being photographed with his then-wife Katie Holmes in multiple events with David and Victoria Beckham . The group solidified their friendship in 2007 when the pair moved to Los Angeles, but they would grow apart soon after this.

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David and Victoria decided to move to the United States when the athlete entered the LA Galaxy squad, and it was reportedly the actor who helped them meet other big stars in the entertainment industry. A close source to Cruise revealed to The Mirror that he “did everything for them when they first moved to LA.”

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“He practically gave them the keys to the city,” the insider said, explaining that “He threw them a party to meet everyone important.” The source also explained that the actor allegedly holds a grudge as the friendship ended at “the moment they were established” in Los Angeles.

“David and Victoria tested the waters a while ago, but Tom ignored them — so it makes sense they haven’t invited him to anything. Tom clearly thinks they should have tried harder,” the insider said to the publication.

Tom And Katie Host Welcome Party For The Beckhams

Fans of the former soccer star were expecting to learn more about the rumored feud on David’s latest Netflix documentary, and while he didn’t touch the subject, he did open up about some of the struggles he faced during the early 2000s, almost causing his marriage with Victoria to fall apart.

“It was the hardest period because it felt like the world was against us. Here’s the thing — we were against each other if I’m being completely honest,” Victoria says in the documentary. “Victoria is everything to me. To see her hurt was incredibly difficult. But we are fighters. And at that time we needed to fight for each other, we needed to fight for our family,” David added.

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Tom Cruise Turns 61: Inside His $10 Billion Career and Being 'Hollywood's Last Real Movie Star'

Inside tom cruise's rise to becoming the world's biggest movie star, camila cabello decodes her 'i luv it' lyrics about sex, jennifer garner reveals her father william 'peacefully' died, why shannen doherty fears dying before her mom amid stage 4 cancer battle, travis kelce lip-syncs and dances to taylor swift's 'bad blood', why rebel wilson thinks adele hates her, valerie bertinelli reveals she's found love after vowing she'd 'die alone', nick cannon’s diddy comments resurface after house raids, sheryl crow on working with michael jackson, career achievements and new album | retrospective, ‘vanderpump villa’ cast on their uniforms (exclusive), david and victoria beckham spend easter aboard $20 million yacht, beyoncé's 'cowboy carter' collabs: breaking down all the guest features, how nick cannon celebrated easter with all 11 of his kids, tori spelling in tears as she breaks news of divorce filing to dean mcdermott, diddy’s son christian combs speaks out after being handcuffed during home raid, kylie kelce says husband jason needs to get out the house amid nfl retirement, former nfl cornerback vontae davis dead at 35, diddy breaks silence after home raids with daughter love tribute, tori spelling reveals dean mcdermott's comment that ultimately led her to file for divorce, 'the first omen': nell tiger free discovers evil conspiracy, inside kris jenner and the kardashians' over-the-top family easter celebration, the 'top gun' star has built a reputation for box office success -- and he's not slowing down anytime soon.

Tom Cruise turns 61 on Monday, marking more than four decades since he broke on to the Hollywood scene and started his ascension to the mega-famous movie star we know today.

Born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, Cruise got his start in bit movie parts before a breakout year in 1983, in which he starred in All the Right Moves, The Outsiders, and his breakthrough hit, Risky Business.

But it was in the 1990s when Cruise began to hit his stride as box office magic. From 1992-96, he made history when he starred in five consecutive movies that grossed $100 million or more in the United States: A Few Good Men, The Firm, Interview With the Vampire, Mission: Impossible and Jerry Maguire .

His starring role as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible has also been a blockbuster boon. So far, the franchise's six films have grossed over $3 billion worldwide, with the seventh --  Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One -- coming to theaters July 12.

"It's unbelievable," Cruise told ET while premiering Dead Reckoning in Rome last month. "I do pinch myself every day.... It's something that I've never taken for granted ... I just feel very privileged."

And then, of course, there's Top Gun. The   iconic original flyboy flick was the highest-grossing domestic film in 1986, and when Cruise returned to the role of Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell last year for Top Gun: Maverick, it was a triumph in more ways than one. The film became Cruise's first to earn over a billion dollars worldwide and was a major success for movie theaters just starting to dig their way out of COVID shutdown difficulties.

"I make movies for audiences," the actor told ET. "I work so hard and I think about them the whole time and when you see how excited they are and how much they appreciate it - it's just beautiful."

In total, the man often referred to as "the last true movie star" has made himself a $10 billion career so far -- and he doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

However, despite the money, and despite the moniker, for Cruise it's all about the craft.

"It's not about being a movie star," he insisted. "It's about being an actor and concentrating on that and finding roles that are going to be a challenge for me... Movie stardom can come and go, but your craft within, you can work forever if you keep working hard at that."

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Tom Cruise Surprises 'Mission: Impossible' Fans by Showing Up at Movie Theaters in Miami, Atlanta and More

The actor popped up in Miami, Atlanta, Toronto and Washington, D.C., to surprise moviegoers seeing "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One"

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Derek White/Getty 

Mission: Impossible fans in cities across North America are getting the chance to meet Ethan Hunt himself!

On Tuesday, Tom Cruise surprised moviegoers at theaters in several locations, greeting fans who showed up to see the latest installment in his popular action franchise, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One .

His stops included AMC Georgetown in Washington, D.C.; AMC Sunset Place 24 in South Miami, Florida; Regal Atlantic Station in Atlanta; and Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.

Joining Cruise, 60, for the Atlanta appearance was the movie's director Christopher McQuarrie , who addressed the crowd. Thanking fans for being there for the screening, Cruise added, as seen in video footage shared by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , "You definitely dream of moments like this. This is amazing."

"Hope you enjoy the film, 'cause we made it for you," said the actor.

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

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While Cruise may be a worldwide movie star, he’s also “just a guy" who happens to love making movies, according to his Dead Reckoning costars Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell .

Pegg, 53, told  The Times  that Cruise is involved “in every part of a film” — from filling its lead role to helping out on-set caterers. “I just don’t think anybody else can be as arsed as he can,” he told the outlet.

Atwell, 41, added that, similar to his treatment of everyone on a film set, Cruise values viewers and their experience with a movie above all else.

“He doesn’t want to make movies now to punish an audience,” she told The Times . “He doesn’t want films with the message that if you do not understand this, you’re not smart.”

An example of this, Atwell said, was during a script read for a  Mission: Impossible  film — not  Dead Reckoning Part One  — when Cruise told the crew he “didn’t get” a line, which translated to “the audience will not get it," and thus it was cut.

Stefania M. D'Alessandro/Getty 

While Cruise famously sends his friends in Hollywood  a coconut cake every year  for the holidays, for his  Mission: Impossible  costars, the actor-producer was even more generous.

As one of the franchise's newcomers, Atwell recently told PEOPLE she was especially touched by Cruise's "very thoughtful gifts ," including a "beautiful old clay pot" that's "a natural filtering system."

Pom Klementieff , who goes head-to-head with Cruise in  Dead Reckoning  as one of the film's villains, is also a fan of the coconut cake — but another gift was even more addictive.

"I wanted to skydive with him and also the stunt team, but they said that I needed to get my license," the actress, 37, told PEOPLE. "So when I wrapped the movie, he gifted me, as my wrap gift, the lessons of learning how to skydive."

"He found a teacher for me and I learned how to skydive and I got my license and we even did jumps together. And now I'm addicted, so that's my new thing now," she added.

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One  is in theaters now.

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Tom Cruise

  • Born July 3 , 1962 · Syracuse, New York, USA
  • Birth name Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
  • Height 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
  • In 1976, if you had told fourteen-year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born in 1962 in Syracuse, New York, was destined to become one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. Tom is the only son (among four children) of nomadic parents, Mary Lee (Pfeiffer), a special education teacher, and Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. His parents were both from Louisville, Kentucky, and he has German, Irish, and English ancestry. Young Tom spent his boyhood always on the move, and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the U.S. and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, New Jersey with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, Tom wanted to become a priest but pretty soon he developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends. He made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love (1981) and from the outset exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences. With handsome movie star looks and a charismatic smile, within 5 years Tom Cruise was starring in some of the top-grossing films of the 1980s including Top Gun (1986) ; The Color of Money (1986) , Rain Man (1988) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) . By the 1990s he was one of the highest-paid actors in the world earning an average 15 million dollars a picture in such blockbuster hits as Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) , Mission: Impossible (1996) and Jerry Maguire (1996) , for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for best actor. Tom Cruise's biggest franchise, Mission Impossible, has also earned a total of 3 billion dollars worldwide. Tom Cruise has also shown lots of interest in producing, with his biggest producer credits being the Mission Impossible franchise. In 1990 he renounced his devout Catholic beliefs and embraced The Church of Scientology claiming that Scientology teachings had cured him of the dyslexia that had plagued him all of his life. A kind and thoughtful man well known for his compassion and generosity, Tom Cruise is one of the best liked members of the movie community. He was married to actress Nicole Kidman until 2001. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV has indeed come a long way from the lonely wanderings of his youth to become one of the biggest movie stars ever. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tom McDonough, Grant failor
  • Spouses Katie Holmes (November 18, 2006 - August 20, 2012) (divorced, 1 child) Nicole Kidman (December 24, 1990 - August 8, 2001) (divorced, 2 children) Mimi Rogers (May 9, 1987 - February 4, 1990) (divorced)
  • Children Isabella Jane Cruise Suri Cruise Connor Cruise
  • Parents Thomas Mapother III Mary Lee Pfeiffer
  • Relatives William Mapother (Cousin) Amy Mapother (Cousin) Katherine Mapother (Cousin) Lee Anne De Vette (Sibling)
  • Often plays romantic leading men with an edge
  • Often plays characters caught up in extraordinary circumstances
  • Frequently plays intelligent yet laidback and likeable characters
  • Beaming smile and intense eye contact
  • Boundless off-stage energy
  • His acting idol is Paul Newman . Much to the delight of Cruise, they became good friends during work on The Color of Money (1986) . Newman got him into racing, and Cruise ultimately raced on his team.
  • Stopped to help a hit and run victim and paid her hospital bills. The victim was aspiring Brazilian actress Heloisa Vinhas (1996).
  • Insists on performing many of his own stunts in his films, including climbing the exterior of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, during the filming of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) , and driving during the car chases in Jack Reacher (2012) .
  • Cruise earned roughly $75 million for Mission: Impossible II (2000) . He did this by turning down any upfront salary, for instead taking a back-end deal that landed him 30% of the film's gross for both his producing and acting duties.
  • He did not stay for the remainder of the 2002 Academy Awards after opening them because it was his turn to look after his and ex-wife Nicole Kidman 's children. He reportedly left the Kodak Theatre by a back door after opening proceedings and dashed home to watch the rest of the event on television with his kids Connor and Isabella.
  • The thing about filmmaking is I give it everything, that's why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It's not that hard. Sign your own checks, be responsible.
  • [to Jay Leno regarding his topless Vanity Fair cover shoot] I don't drink but I had a beer that night and they only did one setup like that. I'm a cheap date. What can I say?
  • [on Eyes Wide Shut (1999) ] We knew from the beginning the level of commitment needed. We felt honored to work with Stanley Kubrick . We were going to do what it took to do this picture, whatever time, because I felt - and Nic [ Nicole Kidman ] did, too - that this was going to be a really special time for us. We knew it would be difficult. But I would have absolutely kicked myself if I hadn't done this.
  • I have cooked turkeys in my day but when Mom's around I let her do it.
  • I was 18 when I saw Akira Kurosawa 's Seven Samurai (1954) . After about 30 seconds, I realized that this was not just a cultural thing, it was universal. Years later, I read Bushido. It talked about many things that I strive for in my own life: loyalty, compassion, responsibility, the idea of looking back on your life and taking responsibility for everything you've ever done. I'm fascinated by the samurai and the samurai code - it's one of the main reasons I wanted to make The Last Samurai (2003) .
  • Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two (2025) - $13,000,000 + % of back end
  • Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) - $13,000,000 + % of back end
  • Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - $13,000,000 + % of back end
  • The Mummy (2017) - $13,000,000 + % of gross
  • Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - $12,500,000 + % of back end

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  • Are Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise Friends?

Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez have been friends since childhood. They both auditioned together for the movie The Outsiders, and attended the party afterwards. In Hollywood, real friendships can be hard to come by, but these two have managed to stay close over the years. Rob Lowe recently spoke about his experience working with a young Tom Cruise on the set of The Outsiders.

He was joined by other major 80s stars such as Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez and C. Lowe was invited to Dax Shepard's podcast, Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, and recalled his first experiences with Cruise. Tom Cruise is known for his genuine interactions with fans. In 1988, he was the first actor to act in both the Oscar winner for best picture and the winner of the Razzie for the worst picture.

He was even considered for the lead role of Neo in The Matrix. Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which many consider to be one of the most romantic places in the world. At Days of Thunder, Tom Cruise discovered his love for racing, but his instructor, Roger French, stated that he ignored proper technique and safety precautions and instead drove incredibly fast. There was a rather revealing scene in Valkyrie that aroused the curiosity of a Twitter user who suggested that Cruise was wearing a buttock prosthesis.

Val Kilmer commented on Cruise's incredible approach in his new book, I'm Your Huckleberry. Kovic gave Cruise his bronze star after watching Top Gun as a sign of appreciation for Tom's performance in this film.Tom Cruise struggled with dyslexia as a child and said he was functionally illiterate until Hubbard's Study Technology learning method taught him to read as an adult. He is known for many movies, but one trick Tom Cruise is famous for is jumping off the couch on the Oprah Winfrey show. He also tried out some dance moves on the dance floor before learning choreography at Rock of Ages.The audition process for The Outsiders was rigorous; those selected had to go to New York to face another round of auditions.

Tom Cruise is known to be a little weird when it comes to dishes; he believes they should be scrubbed before they go into the dishwasher.

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Tom Cruise and Girlfriend Elsina Khayrova Split, ‘Weren’t Romantically Compatible’ (Exclusive)

Tom Cruise and his girlfriend, Elsina Khayrova , have called it quits shortly after debuting their romance.

“They weren’t gelling and realized they weren’t romantically compatible,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly , on stands now.

According to the insider, Khayrova, 36, was the one to put an end to the their relationship. “There’s no bad blood between them,” the source tells Us . “They just had different ideas of what their relationship was going to be.”

The actor, 61, and the Russian socialite, 36, were first spotted cozying up to each other at a December 2023 party in London’s Grosvenor Square, though a source exclusively told Us  at the time that the pair had been dating for “a while.”

Tom Cruise s Dating History Through the Years Nicole Kidman Katie Holmes and More 765

Related: Tom Cruise’s Dating History: A Look Back at His A-List Romances

“They’re very happy,” the insider added. “And Tom’s extremely confident about it working out for the long term. … They’ve hung out at Tom’s favorite private members club and regularly enjoy afternoon tea and gourmet dinners out in London.”

The two met through mutual friends in the city’s social scene. “What started as a basic friendship quickly turned into something more special ,” the source said.

Cruise’s eldest children, Isabella, 31, and Connor, 29 — whom he shares with ex-wife Nicole Kidman — thought Khayrova was “great and [were] so happy to see that their dad [had] love in his life again,” the insider noted, revealing that Cruise was waiting to pursue a romance once he found the right person. “He wanted to take his time and not rush into any relationships just for the sake of it.”

Tom Cruise and Girlfriend Elsina Khayrova Split TK Months After Going Public 391

As for Khayrova, she was “very supportive of Tom and his work” and knew that he had “a lot of demands and obligations” on his plate.

In February, a second source told Us that Cruise was “very relaxed and content” with Khayrova. “They’re both happy in London and settled with a well-heeled social circle, all of whom believe it’s a great match.”

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Although there was a 25-year age difference between the duo, they had plenty in common, with the insider revealing that they would “sit and talk for hours about world affairs, arts and culture, history [and] sports.” The source also noted that Cruise found Khayrova’s “journey and heritage fascinating” and thought she was “incredibly intelligent.”

At the time, Cruise and Khayrova were solid, with the source hinting that a serious commitment could be in their future. “Tom [has] never ruled out getting married again; it’s just that the circumstances haven’t been right,” the insider said, adding that they were “super happy together.”

Cruise was previously married to Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990, to Kidman, 56, from 1990 to 2001 and to Katie Holmes — with whom he shares a daughter — from 2006 to 2012. Khayrova, meanwhile, filed for divorce from Russian oligarch Dmitry Tsetkov in 2022 after separating two years earlier. The exes, who have two children together, have since settled the proceedings.

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Tom Cruise split from his Russian socialite girlfriend in order to avoid issues with her outspoken oligarch ex, a source tells Page Six.

Following news that Cruise and Elsina Khayrova were dating, her ex-husband — the colourful international diamond trader, Dmitry Tsvetkov — gave a long interview to the Daily Mail detailing their marriage and warning Cruise to “keep his eyes and wallet wide open.”

A source tells Page Six that the article worried the very private star’s team.

“He’s filming and can’t be shooting and have her husband saying stuff every time he is mentioned in the press,” the source said. “They just didn’t want to deal with the ex husband coming up with something nasty to say every few weeks.”

Tsvetkov — who reportedly prefers the term “tycoon” over oligarch — also somewhat unusually continuously fanned over Cruise during the interview, calling him his “favourite actor”, stating he has seen Eyes Wide Shut a whopping 30 times (and also loves Rain Man and The Firm ), and added that he talked with a Hollywood producer pal about having Cruise play him in a movie about his life.

Cruise’s relationship with a Russian socialite was short-lived. Picture: WPA Pool/Getty

“I told the producer that the only actor who could play me is Tom Cruise,” quipped Tsvetkov to the UK outlet. “We’re about the same height and weight and I would be honoured if that could happen. I couldn’t think of anyone better to play me than Tom. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to meet him one day to discuss this project.”

Cruise has been making headlines as he currently films his eighth Mission: Impossible movie. The actor, 61, who known for doing his own stunts, was most recently seen sprinting through London for a scene.

The Sun reported that Cruise and Khayrova had split in late February with a source telling the outlet, “There are no hard feelings between them and, for Tom, their relationship simply ran its course.”

The wealthy Russian socialite is the daughter of a Vladimir Putin ally, Russian politician Rinat Khayrova.

Tsvetkov, who has British citizenship and was reportedly on the Kremlin’s most wanted list in 2020, claims to have survived assassination attempts.

Elsina Khayrova briefly dated Cruise.

In the Daily Mail article, he also said he spent over $US12 million on clothes and approximately $US2.5 million on handbags for his ex during their 11-year marriage. He also claimed he lost nearly $US200 million in the divorce.

Their split made international headlines as millions were in dispute, including a mansion in Surrey, England, five London apartments, a Bentley and a Ferrari, plus Cartier jewellery and artwork by Renoir and Chagall.

“Irrespective of whoever she’s with, Tom Cruise or anybody else, they should be aware that she likes the finer things in life and has expensive and luxurious tastes,” he told the publication.

But we hear that Khayrova, 36, is still hopeful she and Cruise could rekindle their romance. “She didn’t do anything wrong,” says the source.

However, she doesn’t seem to be taking the break-up too badly. She has been Instagramming from the luxe Amara hotel in Cyprus this week.

Cruise with Prince William in February. Picture: WPA Pool/Getty

On Thursday, she posted an image on Instagram Stories of herself saying: “A woman’s energy is reflected in her daily practice of loving, appreciating, and accepting herself, as well as recognising her own worth,” with a heart emoji.

In another, a caption read, “Always in love,” with a heart emoji.

Khayrova and Cruise were first spotted together publicly at a party in December in London’s Grosvenor Square, and Page Six exclusively reported that they had met when a friend of Khayrova’s brought her to one of his exclusive Sunday tea parties at his Hyde Park penthouse.

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“He has butlers and homemade cakes, and it’s all very British,” said our source at the time.

In June 2022, Page Six exclusively reported that Cruise was shopping for apartments in the UK after falling in love with London.

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.

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San Diego Writers Festival to host film director Ed Zwick, whose new Hollywood memoir tells all

Filmmaker Ed Zwick

Ed Zwick has written a star-studded behind-the-scenes memoir, which he’ll discuss Saturday as the Coronado event

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On a recent Friday night, Jim Belushi walked into a high-rise apartment in Chicago and shouted, “Am I late? Did you talk about me yet?”

Belushi had been invited, as had the other 40 or so people at an event who had come to hear veteran film director Ed Zwick talk about his new memoir, “Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood.”

So Belushi shouted, some people laughed and Zwick carried on, saying, “Haven’t mentioned you yet, Jim, but I will.”

Also among the guests that night were Stuart Oken and Jason Brett, the film producing team behind many projects over the years. Their first encounter with Zwick was the film version of the David Mamet play, “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” which became “About Last Night” and turned the pair into what Zwick calls “lifelong friends.”

“About Last Night” was Zwick’s first hit film. He directed, and it starred Rob Lowe, Demi Moore and Jim Belushi who, Zwick writes, “became my great ally, and his performance was brilliant.”

The Belushi stories are among the book’s best, but it is a fine and honest book. Its first line is this: “I tell stories for a living.” True to those words, the book’s 300-some pages are filled with stories, about the making of such television shows as “Thirtysomething” and “My So-Called Life” and nearly two dozen movies, including “Glory,” “Legends of the Fall,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “The Last Samurai,” “Blood Diamond” and “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.”

Zwick is the featured headliner for the fifth annual San Diego Writers Festival, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at two locations in Coronado. More than 90 speakers are booked and there will be more than 40 events. Zwick’s presentation is at 11 a.m. at the Coronado Performing Arts Center. Other speakers are San Diego Poet Laureate Gill Sotu, New York Times bestselling author Matthew Quirk (“The Night Agent”), Dr. Judith Orloff (“The Genius of Empathy”) and Anita Moorjani (“Dying to Be Me”).

Zwick’s memoir is filled with enough bold-faced names for a dozen old-fashioned gossip columns: Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meg Ryan ... and on and on.

“The book was born when COVID came,” said Zwick, who lives with his family in Santa Monica. “It shut down the plans for a reimagining of “Thirtysomething” called “Thirtysomething(else)” and during this down time, I started looking back at some of the work I’d done. I’m not a retrospective kind of person. I am always looking forward. But in watching my movies, I was astonished by the people I had been with, the relationships I had formed.”

His book is a generally sunny trip, in sharp contrast to the recent memoir by another David Mamet, whose recently published “Everywhere an Oink Oink,” lives up to its subtitle, “An Embittered, Dyspeptic, and Accurate Report of Forty Years in Hollywood.”

Zwick knows and respects Mamet and said he’d love to share the stage with Mamet in a discussion of memoirs.

There is no question that Zwick shares some of Mamet’s views about Hollywood and the movie business. His view: “These days, big movies with movie stars and all the bells and whistles tend to be about superheroes and comic books. This isn’t grousing. It is what it is.”

Still he is working on a new film project and is pleased by the reception his book is receiving, praise such as this from The Wall Street Journal: “The author warns early on that he’ll be dropping names, and he certainly does. ... Not everyone is remembered so fondly, but the author on the whole comes off as humble about his success and charmingly self-deprecating. … (A) heartfelt memoir in movies and more.”

In the book, Zwick wrote about how Brad Pitt was sometimes volatile on the set of “Legends of the Fall”; how a demanding Julia Roberts spectacularly quit the movie “Shakespeare in Love” and cost the studio $6 million; how he sued now-disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein; and how he enjoyed working with Denzel Washington in “Glory” and Tom Cruise in “The Last Samurai.”

The book is punctuated by chapters that offer “tips” and “lessons,” such as “It’s Possible to Make a Bad Movie Out of a Good Script” and “Fall in Love with the Actors: But don’t mistake it as being real. Transfer your fascination with them to the screen. And don’t sleep with them though they are shiny and alluring.”

One thing the book does not provide is much about his personal life. We do learn that he is happily married, has two good kids (both writers) and successfully dealt with a serious health problem. His high school years? Only a bit. His childhood? Not much.

Here is the paragraph that begins Chapter 15: “My paternal grandfather was a tough Jew. I’m named after him; my Hebrew name is Yitzhak. In 1920s Chicago his five brothers (“the Uncles,” as they were known in my family), Dovie, Fat, Zus, Zell, and Jules, were “betting commissioners” (read bookies) for the Capone mob. As a boy I secretly relished my family’s unsavory past.”

Sounds like that might make a good book, yes? What about a movie?

The book cover for Ed Zwick's memoir "Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood."

“Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood” by Ed Zwick (Gallery Books, 2024; 304 pages)

San Diego Writers Festival presents Ed Zwick

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Coronado Performing Arts Center, 650 D Ave., Coronado

Admission: Free but registration required

Register: sandiegowritersfestival.org

Kogan writes for The Chicago Tribune.

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Tom Cruise broke up with Elsina Khayrova over his team’s concerns about her chatty ex-hubby: sources

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Tom Cruise split from his Russian socialite girlfriend in order to avoid issues with her outspoken oligarch ex, a source tells Page Six.

Following news that Cruise and Elsina Khayrova were dating , her ex-husband — the colorful international diamond trader, Dmitry Tsvetkov — gave a long interview to the Daily Mail detailing their marriage and warning Cruise to “keep his eyes and wallet wide open.” 

A source tells us that the article worried the very private star’s team.

Tom Cruise

“He’s filming and can’t be shooting and have her husband saying stuff every time he is mentioned in the press,” a source told us. “They just didn’t want to deal with the ex husband coming up with something nasty to say every few weeks.” 

Tsetkov — who reportedly prefers the term “tycoon” over oligarch — also somewhat unusually continuously fanned over Cruise during the interview, calling him his “favorite actor,” stating he has seen “Eyes Wide Shut” a whopping 30 times (and also loves “Rain Man” and “The Firm”), and added that he talked with a Hollywood producer pal about having Cruise play him in a movie about his life.

“I told the producer that the only actor who could play me is Tom Cruise,” quipped Tsetkov to the UK outlet. “We’re about the same height and weight and I would be honored if that could happen. I couldn’t think of anyone better to play me than Tom. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to meet him one day to discuss this project.”

Cruise has been making headlines as he currently films his eighth “Mission: Impossible” movie. The actor, 61, who known for doing his own stunts, was most recently seen sprinting through London for a scene.

Elsina Khayrova

The Sun reported that Cruise and Khayrova had split in late February with a source telling the outlet, “There are no hard feelings between them and, for Tom, their relationship simply ran its course.”

The wealthy Russian socialite is the daughter of a Vladamir Putin ally, Russian politician Rinat Khayrova. 

Tsetkov, who has British citizenship and was reportedly on the Kremlin’s most wanted list in 2020, claims to have survived assassination attempts .

Tom Cruise

In the Daily Mail article, he also said he spent over $12 million on clothes and approximately $2.5 million on handbags for his ex during their 11 year marriage. He also claimed he lost nearly $200 million in the divorce. 

Their  split made international headlines  as millions were in dispute, including a mansion in Surrey, England, five London apartments, a Bentley and a Ferrari, plus Cartier jewelry and artwork by Renoir and Chagall.

“Irrespective of whoever she’s with, Tom Cruise or anybody else, they should be aware that she likes the finer things in life and has expensive and luxurious tastes,” he told the publication.

Elsina Khayrova

But we hear that Khayrova, 36, is still hopeful she and Cruise could rekindle their romance. “She didn’t do anything wrong,” says our source. 

However, she doesn’t seem to be taking the breakup too badly. She has been Instagramming from the luxe Amara hotel in Cyprus this week.

On Thursday, she posted an image on Instagram Stories of herself saying: “A woman’s energy is reflected in her daily practice of loving, appreciating, and accepting herself, as well as recognizing her own worth,” with a heart emoji.

Elsina Khayrova

In another, a caption read, “Always in love,” with a heart emoji.

Khayrova and Cruise were first spotted together publicly at a party in December in London’s Grosvenor Square, and Page Six exclusively reported that they had met when a friend of Khayrova’s brought her to one of his exclusive Sunday tea parties at his Hyde Park penthouse.

“He has butlers and homemade cakes, and it’s all very British,” said our source at the time.

In June 2022, Page Six  exclusively reported  that Cruise was shopping for apartments in the UK after falling in love with London.

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Tim mcgovern, visual effects veteran and oscar winner for ‘total recall,’ dies at 68.

His other credits included 'Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,' 'Dunkirk,' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp,' 'Men in Black: International' and 'Jungle Cruise,' and he received the VES Founders Award last year.

By Kimberly Nordyke

Kimberly Nordyke

Managing Editor, Digital

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Tim McGovern at the 2013 Visual Effects Society Awards

Tim McGovern, a visual effects veteran who earned an Oscar for his work on 1990’s Total Recall, died Saturday. He was 68.

His wife, Reena NeGandhi, posted the news on Facebook.

“Today is the saddest day of my life,” she wrote. “My Husband Tim McGovern, an Oscar winner for the VFX in 1990’s for Total Recall and several more awards from the VES has died today. He passed away in his sleep.”

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“We were saddened and shocked by the sudden news of Tim’s untimely passing,” said Kim Davidson, VES chair. “Tim and I have been VES members and colleagues for many years, and his passion and loyalty to the Society were exemplary. Tim’s insights, expertise and volunteer leadership have been key to our global expansion, and he will be terribly missed by us all.”

Added Bob Coleman, his former agent and friend: “This is such a shock. Tim McGovern was deeply loved by all who knew him. One of his great legacies and contributions to our industry will be his tireless work of inclusion of VFX workers around the globe into the Visual Effects Society.”

McGovern has numerous film credits on his résumé, starting with 1982’s Tron, which he worked on while employed with the former Robert Abel and Associates.

He went on to become a founding member of Sony Pictures ImageWorks, where he worked on such movies as 2015’s Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, 2017’s Dunkirk , 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, 2019’s Men in Black: International and 2021’s Jungle Cruise.

Other credits include 1993’s Last Action Hero, So I Married an Axe Murderer and Look Who’s Talking Now ; 1997’s As Good as It Gets ; and 2023’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

More recently, he worked at DNEG Mumbai and served as chief creative officer at Whisper Pictures, a company that develops and produces animated family films. 

According to his bio on IMDBpro, McGovern was born on June 24, 1955, in Chicago. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, double majoring in photography and graphic design, in the late ’70s. He earned a doctorate from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2001.

In her post, NeGandhi said that McGovern had written a film and novel that she plans to “take over to get it made for him.”

“He had so many life dreams for his film and now he’s gone,” she wrote. “He’s left it in my hands to make it happen now. I have no idea how I will live without him. He took such good care of me and he was my world. May his soul rest in peace.”

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    Tom Cruise has defined pop culture for decades through his movies and marriages, so Us Weekly is taking a look back at the film icon's career, personal life and more. The actor was born Thomas ...

  17. All the Stars Who Receive Tom Cruise's Coconut Bundt Cake

    Amy Sussman/WireImage. As Elle mentioned, Dunst has been on the list of recipients since working with Cruise in 1994. "He gives me a cake every Christmas," Dunst told Graham Norton during a 2016 ...

  18. Tom Cruise Surprises Fans Seeing 'Mission: Impossible' in Theaters: Photos

    Tom Cruise Surprises 'Mission: Impossible' Fans by Showing Up at Movie Theaters in Miami, Atlanta and More ... While Cruise famously sends his friends in Hollywood a coconut cake every year for ...

  19. Tom Cruise

    Tom Cruise. Actor: Top Gun. In 1976, if you had told fourteen-year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born ...

  20. 7 best Tom Cruise 1990s movies, ranked

    Cruise turns his movie star charm up to 10 in Jerry Maguire. And yes, Tom, you had us at hello, too. Rent Jerry Maguire on Prime Video, YouTube, Apple, or Google.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to ...

  21. Are Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise Friends?

    Janette Angert 11-03-2023 1 minute read. 7 3.9k. Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez have been friends since childhood. They both auditioned together for the movie The Outsiders, and attended the party afterwards. In Hollywood, real friendships can be hard to come by, but these two have managed to stay close over the years.

  22. Tom Cruise and Girlfriend Elsina Khayrova Split: Inside Their Breakup

    Tom Cruise and his girlfriend, Elsina Khayrova, have split shortly after making their relationship public in December 2023. ... The two met through mutual friends in the city's social scene.

  23. Real reason Tom Cruise dumped Russian socialite

    Real reason Tom Cruise dumped Russian socialite. Tom Cruise split from his Russian socialite girlfriend in order to avoid issues with her outspoken oligarch ex, according to a new report.

  24. San Diego Writers Festival to host film director Ed Zwick, whose new

    Filmmaker Ed Zwick will speak about his new memoir "Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood" at the San Diego Writers Festival on Saturday, April 6, in Coronado.

  25. Tom Cruise split from Elsina Khayrova over concerns about ex

    Her ex-husband, Russian oligarch Dmitry Tsvetkov, gave an interview detailing their marriage, warning Cruise to keep his "eyes and wallet wide open."

  26. Tim McGovern, Visual Effects Veteran and Oscar Winner for 'Total Recall

    Tim McGovern, a visual effects veteran who earned an Oscar for his work on 1990's Total Recall, died Saturday in his sleep. He was 68. His wife, Reena NeGandhi, posted the news of his death on ...