Somehow, Tom Cruise manages to be one of the most famous people on Earth while also being one of the most mysterious. Twenty-one years ago, he was jumping on a couch on TV proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes, but today, he largely avoids talking about his personal life.
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Tom is beloved by the movie-loving public, but there is also a whole lot of speculation — both good and bad — surrounding his religious beliefs, his family, and what he's really like in real life. And while we'll probably never get to the bottom of all of the Tom Cruise lore, he just addressed one of the "rumors" head-on.
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For the first time in 20 years, Tom is on the cover of GQ to promote his upcoming movie, Digger. For the profile, he sat down for a rare long-form interview with GQ's Zach Baron, who asked him why it's been "so long" since he's done something like this.
"I’ve been very busy," Tom said, explaining that he's always cared more about making movies than talking about making them. "I just haven’t had the time, with the amount of things that I set in motion and decided I was going to do and looking back on those things that I felt worked. I went for competence. I went for skill, for whatever level that was, of learning something and being able to then go, 'Oh, this is what I need to focus on.'"
The pair then discussed Tom's staunch dedication to everything he does and the perception that he's incredibly "intense" to be around, particularly on a movie set. (Need I bring up that leaked recording of him allegedly yelling at workers on the set of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One after he saw them breaking COVID-19 guidelines?)
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Interestingly, Tom emphasized that this perception of him as "intense" is nothing new. Recalling his childhood, the 64-year-old said he was constantly asking questions about everything. "I was a kid looking out the windows. Teachers are like, 'What’s happening?' But I first want to know, what do they want to know about? What are they interested in? And then I get kind of interested in what they’re interested in," he said, going on to explain how this zest for knowledge informed his approach to filmmaking.
"When I’m making a movie with different people, it’s like: What do they think of life? And then I’m looking at how I’ll discuss with them what it means for me to make movies. I’m always like, 'Listen, try to know before you go. Don’t just work with people. Who are they? What are they? What are they trying to do?'" he said.
Interestingly, Tom was happy to own the rumors about his intensity — in fact, he even warns people about it.
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"When I’m working with people, I’m not afraid to, as I’m acting, to look foolish, to do it... And look, I work hard, and people that work with me, they know," he said. "I expect a lot and I’m up-front about it. It’s like: 'The rumors are true. And do you want this?' I’m like, 'Trust me, the rumors are true. I’ll be here before you. What experience do you want?'"
"And I’m very open," he continued. "It’s not like we don’t have a plan. We have scripts, we have plans, we’re going through it. But I also feel that level of responsibility for—I guess, for everyone. Even when I was a kid, they were like, 'Oh, come on, Tom. You’re so intense.' I’m like, 'I don’t know what to say. I am intense.' I got a very good sense of humor about it, but it was like: When I’m interested in something, I want to learn it. I want to understand it. And you want to blast through the confusion and kind of build up that ability."
With such an enigmatic presence in pop culture, Tom was asked what he thinks the "biggest misconception" about him is, to which he said: "I’m not sitting here thinking about that stuff. I never think about that. I’m more looking out. For me, I’m more in present and future."
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Well, it clearly pays off. They don't call him the man that "saved Hollywood's ass" for nothing! You can read the full GQ interview here or watch it here.