I just can’t quit Tom Cruise!
Tom Cruise, for so many years, was my main man – in a movie star kind of way.
From Risky Business through Top Gun to Born on the Fourth of July through A Few Good Men to Jerry Maguire through Minority Report. I watched all of the Mission Impossible movies even though I didn’t know what was going on in any of them, actually liked Vanilla Sky and Far and Away and did not hate Eyes Wide Shut too much.
Then Tom went kind of wacko jumping on Oprah’s couch and making out with Katie Holmes on every red carpet in town. Then there was the real low point: his combative interview with Matt Lauer on The Today Show during which he criticized Brooke Shields for her handling of her post-partum depression.
I was through with Tommy! Through!
But there I was buying a ticket to Valkyre and telling people he was really good opposite Meryl Streep in Lions for Lambs.
I’m not sure if Tommy is still a wacko – probably is – but I’ve learned that what I’ve always liked about him and still like about him is his movie star presence. He is mesmerizing on the big screen and a very good actor. I’m right there for his upcoming movie Knight and Day with Cameron Diaz.
Tom is an old-fashioned movie star when it comes to promoting his movies – he does all the talk shows and all the magazines – and really works it.
He’s on the cover of Esquire this month and tackles a variety of topics. Here are some excerpts:
On Success: “Those are times you learn a lot about life. You’re back to, How do I figure this out? I’d lived through so many different periods in life that I had a good idea. You just get back to work. You move forward. That’s what I did. Here we are today. Mission: Impossible IV.”
On Katie Holmes: “Because we do live in a cynical world. It’s easy to be cynical. Making the choice not to be cynical is important. You can keep dwelling on what didn’t work, or you can figure out how to fix it. Which is what being a parent is all about. You know, I’m married to such a special woman. Every night before we go to sleep, Kate and I look at each other and it’s like, How’d we do today?”
On the Oprah Interview: “What happened, happened… I wanted the audience to be happy just like I wanted to make my sisters and my mother happy when I did those skits as a kid. But I’ll take responsibility for my actions… 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.”
On the Oprah Fallout: “There was a confluence of events. My deal with Paramount was up and it wasn’t extended. At first it was, Huh? I don’t get it. But people have misconceptions about that whole thing, too. Sumner Redstone and I are friends. It’s a business.”
On His Father: “I remember looking at my dad and wanting to understand him. I didn’t want to just write the guy off. He was lost. I can’t speak specifically in terms of why and how he got to where he was — that was his journey. All I can tell you is, he was overwhelmed by life… My mother basically did all the work, and then they got separated and I didn’t see him for a long time. He didn’t try to help the family financially or spiritually, and I lived with the effects of the chaos.”
On Forgiving His Father: “Risky Business had become a hit. I hadn’t seen my father in about ten years. I found out he was dying, and I went to see him in the hospital. He knew that he’d blown it. There was deep regret. I think he was torturing himself. We tend to do that. All I could do was tell him, ‘Look, it’s okay.’ I wasn’t going to live in blame and regret. I wanted to understand what happened. I wanted to understand, so I could answer the question, What can I do to make things better? I looked at my father there dying and thought, How can I not be that guy?”
On Being a Father: “I’ll never forget the moment I became a dad. But it’s hard to describe — that level of responsibility, the desire to give such joy. The clarity: Nothing is more important than this. I remember that first night, just staring at Bella. I was checking her every second, just looking at her, feeling that immediate bond. I was probably looking at her so much that I was keeping her up.
“I made a promise to her: All I can do is the best I can. But I’m not going to say I’m gonna do something and then not do it.”
On Teaching His Children Well: “It comes down to the same thing as when I was a kid. Can I create a character that will make her happy, that will make her laugh? And you know what? She makes me get better and better, because she’s always asking me to do it again.”
On Suri: “It’s come full circle. Now I’ll put Suri on a swing and tell her stories when I’m working on a script. I’ll start with the beginning of the movie and take her through the story beat by beat. Of course, I make it age-appropriate. She’s four years old. But she asks all the right questions: Why does that happen? Those are the bad guys? You’re the good guy, right?“
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